This publication looks at the possible causes of irritable infants and gastro-oesophageal reflux in infants. The cry of an infant is designed to stimulate a nurturing response in caregivers; babies come equipped with a cry that is a powerful means of communication. But how do parents learn to interpret a baby's cry? How does a...

Our community holds diverse views about aggression - its desirability; where it is legitimate and where it is not; how it should be dealt with and at what point it is excessive. Few parents and professionals would disagree that a very aggressive young child causes serious problems for themselves and for those around them. The...

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...

Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional problems, and occurs in a wide range of age groups. There have been many recent opinions about iron, particularly in the infant's diet. There are no accurate Australian figures for the prevalence of iron deficiency in infancy, but a declining trend has been shown in the...