Child Health
6 Simple Ways to Soothe a Teething Baby
Teething is challenging for babies and parents; try cold toys, gum massage, nutritious ice pops, food sticks, and drool management.
Last Updated on June 1, 2024 by Daily News Staff
(Family Features) There’s nothing cuter than those first toothy grins, but cutting teeth is a tough business. When a baby is teething, parents often spend long days and nights trying to soothe their little one’s discomfort.
Teething affects babies differently; some may not be bothered at all, while others only have trouble with some teeth. Swollen, red gums are an obvious sign that teething is the culprit for your baby’s sudden unrest. Some other common symptoms you may not immediately associate with teething include unusual irritability, increased drooling, a low-grade fever, flushed cheeks, rash, rubbing the face, pulling on the ear, chewing or gnawing on toys and loose bowel movements.
Each stage of a baby’s development presents unique challenges. Since no two babies are the same, finding the perfect approach to ease your child’s experience can take trial and error.
Begin a smoother teething journey for your family with these ideas from Malina Malkani, doctor and nutritionist, on behalf of Plum Organics.
Cold Teething Toys and Household Items
When teething, babies often look for counterpressure that’s soothing on sore gums, which they can get by chomping down on a harder surface. Cool temperatures also help provide teething relief. Soothing options including silicone toothbrushes, silicone (gel-free) teething rings or toys, or even a clean silicone cooking utensil from the kitchen can be placed in the freezer. Offer the item to your baby for chewing and mouthing, or gently hold it to the gums to help ease the pain.
Gum Massage
Using a clean finger, gently massage your baby’s gums. The little bumps you may feel forming beneath the gumline are the tips of baby teeth making their way to the surface.
Nutritious Ice Pops
Offering cold foods or liquids is another way to provide chilled relief. Breast milk or formula ice pops can be soothing on teething gums. Silicone nipple pouches work well as ice pop molds for infants. For teething babies under 6 months, fill the molds with breast milk or formula, or for toddlers, try freezing nutritious purees.
Freezing purees into teething ice pop molds offers babies two types of teething relief (counterpressure and cool temperature) while providing nutrients and exposure to new flavors. Some nutritious suggestions for purees to freeze include avocado or fruit blends like Plum Organics’ Stage 2 organic baby food pouches, which contain blends of pure fruit and veggies in flavors like Apple, Plum, Berry and Barley or Apple, Blackberry and Coconut Cream.
Food Sticks
For babies who are teething but have not yet had a tooth erupt, try handing over a cold, large, peeled, raw carrot. Refrigerated harder foods provide the cool temperatures and counterpressure babies often crave during bouts of teething, as well as exposure to new flavors and textures, but in a form that won’t break off into smaller pieces that would increase risk of choking.
Manage Drool
During bouts of teething, a baby’s lips, chin and cheeks can easily become raw and chapped from excess saliva and teething-related drool. Keep these areas as dry and protected as possible, especially when it’s cold out. It may help to apply a thin layer of ointment to further protect the skin.
Pain Treatment
After trying all other options, if baby still seems to be in teething-related pain, talk to your pediatrician about whether over-the-counter pain medications are an option, and if so, what dosage to use for your baby. Most experts do not recommend using numbing gels containing benzocaine, which are unsafe for infants and not likely to help with teething pain.
Find more ideas to help navigate teething and all of your baby’s developmental stages at plumorganics.com.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images
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Plum Organics
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Child Health
Changing the Landscape of Childhood Cancer Survivorship
Childhood Cancer: hile “cancer” is a term no family wants to hear, especially when it comes to their children, there is reason for hope. Today, 85% of children diagnosed with cancer survive at least five years. Survival is only part of the journey, however.
Changing the Landscape of Childhood Cancer Survivorship
(Feature Impact) While “cancer” is a term no family wants to hear, especially when it comes to their children, there is reason for hope. Today, 85% of children diagnosed with cancer survive at least five years, according to the National Cancer Institute, up from 75% three decades ago.
Watch this video to learn more
“This progress is driven in large part by dedicated research,” Hyundai Hope on Wheels Board Member Kevin Reilly said. “Over the last 28 years, Hyundai Hope on Wheels has committed over $300 million in pediatric cancer research and program grants, awarding more than 1,600 grants to 210 medical institutions nationwide, impacting thousands of young lives each year.”
Survival is only part of the journey, however. Nearly half (46%) of U.S. adults believe a child ringing the hospital bell after cancer treatment means the child is cancer-free and their medical journey is largely over, according to a survey conducted by Atomik Research on behalf of Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For the children and families living through a diagnosis, the reality is far more complex.
“The reality is that healing continues long after treatment, which is why sustained investment in survivorship care is a priority for us,” said John Guastaferro, executive director of Hyundai Hope on Wheels.
Isabella Franco-Capps, 11, understands that journey firsthand. Diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 5, her journey took two years before she could say she’s “a cancer survivor.”
“I was diagnosed with b-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia,” she said. “This began my two-year-long journey of scans, pokes, chemotherapy and hospital stays. And now I’m a cancer survivor.”
Fellow Hyundai Hope on Wheels National Youth Ambassador, Jackson Trihn, 12, is using his voice to call for continued research and to bring hope to others.
“The role … is being able to share my story,” he said. “Not just to spread awareness but to spread hope to kids that need it. And awareness is so important because people don’t understand how hard pediatric cancer can be.”
Continued progress can help ensure more children ring the bell and receive the care and support they need long after they’ve had the opportunity to do so. To learn more about these efforts and how you can help, visit HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org.
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Women's Health
From Pregnancy to Parenthood: How Medicaid Supports Women Across the Maternal Health Journey
When women are planning, expanding or raising families, access to healthcare is a vital source of physical and mental support. For millions of women and families across the U.S., Medicaid provides that support, enabling parents and children to access the reproductive, maternal and pediatric healthcare they need to thrive.
(Feature Impact) When women are planning, expanding or raising families, access to healthcare is a vital source of physical and mental support. For millions of women and families across the U.S., Medicaid provides that support, enabling parents and children to access the reproductive, maternal and pediatric healthcare they need to thrive. It’s there for anyone who needs it, from working adults to families navigating unemployment or disability.
To learn about how Medicaid supports growing families through every stage of the parenthood journey, consider this information from the maternal health experts at Community Catalyst.
Making Family Planning Possible
When people are able to plan and prepare to welcome children into the world, it can remove a lot of stress, uncertainty and complication from their journeys. Medicaid family-planning coverage may include reproductive health counseling, pre-pregnancy screenings, many forms of FDA-approved contraception and other preventive services. Comprehensive access to birth control allows women and couples to make their own decisions about pregnancy timing or spacing between siblings.
Supporting Healthy Pregnancies
Pregnancy is no small endeavor, and a woman with a healthcare team at her side is better prepared to face whatever challenges may arise. Pregnancy often requires frequent appointments for ultrasounds, laboratory testing and monitoring – all of which are made possible and affordable through Medicaid. Since 1 in 4 Medicaid recipients are women ages 15-49, this care can make a difference during their childbearing years.
Covering Labor and Delivery Costs
Labor and birth can be unpredictable, but being able to afford them shouldn’t be. Without Medicaid, which finances approximately 41% of U.S. births, based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the cost of hospitalization and delivery could be financially devastating to young families. Coverage for labor, delivery and NICU care, if needed, gives parents the ability to focus on their new babies instead of overwhelming medical bills.
Providing Postpartum Care
The need for maternal healthcare doesn’t end when mother and child are discharged from the hospital. Physical recovery takes time, especially if there were any complications during the pregnancy or delivery. Beyond that, postpartum women may need mental health support, treatment for chronic conditions, contraception renewals and other health services that Medicaid can provide. Currently, 49 states plus Washington, D.C. have extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months, which helps new mothers get continuous care without worrying about insurance lapses.
Caring for Growing Kids
Nearly half of all Medicaid recipients in the U.S. are children ages 0-18 – and sometimes kids qualify for Medicaid even when their parents don’t. The program can help new parents stay up to date with well-child visits for infants, immunizations and ongoing preventive care throughout childhood.
To learn more about access to essential services at every stage of life, visit communitycatalyst.org/maternalhealth.
Filling Gaps in Pregnancy and Postpartum Care: Kayla and Tru’s Story
When Kayla found out she was pregnant at 24 years old, she had no idea how she was going to afford all the costs that were coming. Despite having part-time employment and primary insurance through her mother, she faced gaps in coverage for pregnancy care.
Qualifying for Medicaid changed everything. Not only did it cover Kayla’s prenatal visits, labs, ultrasounds and delivery, but once her son Tru was born, both mother and baby required an extended hospital stay. Medicaid made it possible for Tru to get the care he needed in the NICU while Kayla recovered from birth complications.
Afterward, the program continued to cover Kayla and Tru for follow-up appointments and well-child visits. She’s grateful it was there during her time of need and has one simple message to share: If you qualify for Medicaid, apply.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I didn’t expect to be in the hospital as long. I didn’t expect for him to be where he was. But it was definitely needed and helpful.”
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock (mother leaning over hospital bassinet)
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Lifestyle
P.F. Chang’s Partners With Starlight Children’s Foundation for New “Spirit of the Zodiac” Giving Campaign
P.F. Chang’s launches Spirit of the Zodiac, a giving campaign supporting Starlight Children’s Foundation with Bao plush purchases and in-restaurant donations.
P.F. Chang’s Launches Spirit of the Zodiac Campaign to Support Starlight Children’s Foundation
P.F. Chang’s is launching a new annual charitable initiative designed to bring comfort to children during hospital stays. The Scottsdale-based restaurant brand announced Spirit of the Zodiac, a giving program inspired by the Chinese zodiac, with its inaugural campaign—Year of the Fire Horse: Spirit of Strength—benefiting Starlight Children’s Foundation.
What the campaign supports
Starlight Children’s Foundation serves more than 800 children’s hospitals nationwide, providing programs such as toy deliveries, hospital gowns, gaming stations, and other experiences intended to help kids feel more comfortable, connected, and supported during medical care.
How guests can participate (Sept. 2–Sept. 30)
From September 2 through September 30, 2026, guests can purchase Bao, a limited-edition horse plushie, for $10 through dine-in transactions at participating P.F. Chang’s restaurants (while supplies last). For each Bao purchased, P.F. Chang’s will donate an identical Bao plushie to Starlight for distribution through its hospital network—up to 20,000 donated plushies.
Guests can also support the campaign by rounding up their checks or making a direct donation in restaurant. The overall effort aims to raise $500,000 to support Starlight’s work with children and families.
Bonus offer for donors
P.F. Chang’s says guests who purchase Bao or make an in-restaurant donation of $10 or more to Starlight will receive an offer for a complimentary appetizer with the purchase of an entrée on a future dine-in visit, valid through October 31, 2026 (restrictions apply; participating locations only).
A story component for families
The campaign also includes a storytelling element: Bao’s journey will be featured in a digital story and an original children’s book by author Jenny Liao and illustrator Adriane Tsai, expected to publish later this month.
What to watch for
P.F. Chang’s and Starlight plan to continue the partnership beyond September, including in-hospital catering and plush deliveries in early October.
For more information, visit www.pfchangs.com/offers/spirit-of-the-zodiac. To learn more about the partnership, visit starlight.org/pfchangs.
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