Canadian Paediatric Society Blog
February 10, 2023
Childhood disability in the 21st century: It’s a whole new ballgame!
Where have we come from? The 20th century witnessed unprecedented developments in biomedicine in virtually all areas of clinical services. The public’s faith in science was rewarded beyond imagining, with breakthroughs in our understanding of… Read more
November 24, 2022
We need to talk: Rethinking our relationship with screens
The pandemic upended family life in all manner of ways, with increased digital media use and exposure by children and their parents being one of the most dramatic. Screens were enlisted for socializing and work as never before, and while much of this… Read more
November 14, 2022
Folic acid fortification: A public health success story
In the aftermath of the thalidomide tragedy, and despite growing awareness of the teratogenic effects of drugs taken during pregnancy, surprisingly little attention was paid at that time to other nutritional or biochemical exposures that might harm… Read more
October 25, 2022
Baby steps toward family-centred perinatal care
Congratulations to the CPS on its 100th anniversary. It was an honour to be invited to participate in “The Retro-Doc Project” and to share some reflections on a CPS statement from the past. Although I still have hard copies of a few older… Read more
October 6, 2022
My journey toward multiculturalism in paediatric practice
When I was invited to reflect on my career to help celebrate the Canadian Paediatric Society’s centennial year, I found it hard to do without acknowledging past mentors. They influenced my journey as a paediatrician and promoter of… Read more
September 12, 2022
The lessons of lead: Early advocacy on environmental health
“Lead has no known benefits to health and it would seem not only reasonable, but highly desirable to reduce the risks of lead exposure as far as possible”. This quote forms part of the conclusions of a CPS statement from 1986, authored by… Read more
August 18, 2022
Meeting the needs of young moms, then and now
When I recently read the 1979 Canadian Paediatric Society position statement, The Adolescent Mother and her Baby, my first reaction was: “Wow!” How accurate, state-of-the-art this is, 43 years later! And then came the next realization:… Read more
July 14, 2022
Statements of injury: Prevention then and now
Unintentional injuries continue to be the leading cause of death, and a leading cause of hospitalization, in children and youth in Canada today. Yet a pair of CPS statements from 1984 still show just how far both the Canadian Paediatric Society and… Read more
June 7, 2022
Breastfeeding: A look back at good, better, and best
A position statement on breastfeeding published in 1978 to mark the International Year of the Child in 1979, was a joint effort of the nutrition committees of both the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics. One of… Read more
May 10, 2022
Pre-emptive positioning: SIDS then and now
Shortly after beginning my career as a community paediatrician in Montreal and forming the Association of Community-based Paediatricians of the Montreal Children’s Hospital, I was involved in my first infant death from SIDS. I was devastated by… Read more
Last updated: Apr 20, 2020