quick clicks

dads today articles

dads today q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Here's Another Dose

Are We Over-medicating Our Babies?

By Teri Brown

Nothing is of more concern to a parent than a sick baby. When we take our children to the doctor we want them to make our baby feel better – immediately if not sooner. Unfortunately, experts agree that it is this parental demand that is partially responsible for babies being prescribed medications they may not need.

"At times I think I am overmedicating my daughter," says Cindy Balog, a Quakertown, Pa., mother of one. "At her daycare, mothers keep a bottle of Motrin® on hand to dispense every time a child is 'not acting herself.' We assume, once their basic needs have been taken care of, that they're teething or coming down with something and need pain relief. It's hard because babies can't speak for themselves to pinpoint the problem. And because my daughter is in daycare, she's sick more often than not, so I'm not sure it's wise to keep doling out the medication every time she isn't acting normal."

A new study, conducted by Dr. Vikram Khoshoo, a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Pediatric Specialty Center at West Jefferson Medical Center in New Orleans, illustrates one way that infants are being over medicated. The study, which tested infants prescribed antireflux drugs, found that the majority did not meet the diagnostic criteria for gastroesophageal reflux disease. It is possible that four out of five of the infants didn't need the medications, and may have been experiencing a common digestive occurrence such as spitting up.

Dr. Khoshoo says spitting up (GER) is a normal occurrence for infants and usually resolves itself by the time the infants are 18 months old.

"When GER presents with accompanying symptoms such as irritability, food refusal, feeding problems, poor weight gain or weight loss, vomiting of blood or bile, recurrent respiratory symptoms then it is likely to be GERD," Dr. Khoshoo says. "GER does not require any treatment except conservative measures, but GERD requires aggressive treatment with anti-acid drugs."

Want to see more?

• Check out our Article Library.
• The Cold and Cough Medication Ban: Why Were Infant Cold Syrups Removed from Store Shelves?
• Infant GERD: Signs, Symptoms and Treatments of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
• Common Oversights: Mistakes Even the Most Cautious Moms Can Make
• Talk about it!