The agony of otitis media, and the child who is hard of hearing because of middle ear fluid, are familiar to all those who work with young children. This article covers the definitions of otitis media, the epidemiology, diagnosis, management, implications and complications.

Vitamin K has been routinely given to newborn infants in Australia for several decades. It has been administered soon after birth to prevent Haemorraghic Disease of the Newborn (HDN), a rare but potentially fatal bleeding disorder which may present in the first few months of life. Following a 1992 report in the British Medical Journal...

Most new parents have the expectation that within weeks to months of the birth of their new baby the infant will be sleeping soundly through the night and that peace will rein. For many families however this expectation is soon shattered. Sleep problems are exceedingly common through the first few years of life. In fact...

All infants cry - it is one of the few ways available for the young infant to communicate with the environment. It is not abnormal for infants to cry. Some parents perceive the intensity, duration or amount of crying as abnormal, and seek professional help.

In this first Community Paediatrics newsletter, produced in 1992 by the Department of Ambulatory Paediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, infant colic and breastmilk jaundice is discussed. Infant colic is a common and stressful problem for parents, and a major management challenge for health professionals. Although said to be self-limited in time, the ramifications of a...