Infant Health

Australia is heading towards a whooping cough epidemic, with cases surging past 11,000 over the past six months, compared to 2,447 in all of last year. 

Over 30 years, Queensland volunteer Jenny Summerson has cuddled more than 1,000 of the state's tiniest babies.

When Jenny Summerson answered a newspaper ad in the 1990s for a hospital helper, she had no idea she'd become an expert cuddler in the maternity ward.

Giving premature babies high concentrations of oxygen soon after birth may reduce the risk of death by 50 per cent, according to a new study led by the University of Sydney.

The finding bucks the belief that lamprey fish live in cold climates and gives researchers hope the species could be resistant to climate change.

SA Health says it is the sixth case of measles in South Australia this year, compared to three cases at the same time last year.

As an exhausted first-time mum, Galen Elliott says she felt "like her world exploded" when she was told there was a potential problem with her newborn.

An ABC investigation uncovers sensational allegations by a whistleblower that dozens of expectant mothers who attended a Queensland hospital received substandard maternity care that put their babies' lives at risk and did not follow official clinical guidelines.

Despite the testimonials by businesses selling lactation cookies and nursing teas, the evidence around the efficacy of these products is limited.

Six other babies were rescued and taken to another hospital where they remain in a critical condition. It's the second deadly blaze in India this weekend.

A lack of resources and workforce shortages in birthing services at regional SA hospitals have forced mothers needing urgent or specialised care to travel as far as Adelaide.

The introduction of livestreaming cameras mean Arlo's family has 24/7 access to his cot, and medical staff say the impact has been "life-changing".

Six-month-old Xavier Fisher has a rare genetic condition. While he may have the "odds stacked up against him" he surprises his mum everyday and is proving everyone wrong. 

There's an increasing number of school-aged children with pneumonia presenting to hospitals in New South Wales.

The West Australian County Health Service says more than 100 cases of RSV have been recorded in the Kimberley over the past month, compared to a monthly average of 20-30.

Most mothers start out breastfeeding their baby, but by the time babies are five months old, exclusive breastfeeding drops to 15 per cent. Valuing breastfeeding as work could help change that.

Childhood dementia kills as many Australian children as cancer but the former receives much less funding. The South Australian government has stepped in to help families like Renee Staska whose three children are living with the illness.

Australia has the highest rate of food allergies in the world, with one in 10 babies allergic to foods like peanuts, eggs and milk by their first birthday. But did you know introducing these foods early can reduce that risk?

One in 10 children will have a proven food allergy in their first year of life, and by school, there'll be at least one child in every classroom. Yet, there is still no approved treatment and more services are desperately needed.

Every day six babies are, on average, stillborn across the country — and the rate has remained effectively unchanged for two decades. Evidence shows in many cases stillbirth is preventable, but experts are concerned that outdated attitudes and data delays are still holding back progress.

Noah Souvatzis has been remembered at a coronial inquest in Melbourne this week as a beautiful, gentle boy who loved cuddles, lived for The Wiggles and never got his "chance at life".

The Extremely Preterm Early Management checklist provides a step-by-step guide for neonatal teams and has saved many lives since its introduction 2016.  

Having an extremely premature baby isn't an experience Canberra mother Katherine Musgrove would wish on anyone, but she says a management checklist for babies born extremely preterm made a bad situation much more manageable.

Leo and Darcy live with a rare, life-long metabolic disorder and need to take a supplement that helps their quality of life. But that supplement has now been removed from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, prompting calls on the supplier and federal government.

Red Cross Lifeblood has had to bring in breastmilk from interstate to supply Queensland hospitals where it is needed for premature babies and those born with a low weight.