Health Headlines

Hi, I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV... making news this week ... breastfeeding and peer support É fewer infections from a headline-making bacteria É and broken bones on the playing field. First up: According to breastfeeding experts, new moms stand to benefit from seeking advice and support from other moms who have successfully breastfed. A new study from the journal Pediatrics included moms who were taking part in new-parent support groups. The researchers divided the groups into two categories: those in which few moms had stopped breastfeeding by six weeks, and those in which more of the moms had stopped. The women who were still breastfeeding at six weeks were more likely to stop by six months if they were in a group in which more of the other moms had stopped early. Next: A type of drug-resistant bacteria called MRSA can cause serious infections, which people can pick up in hospitals. In a recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers looked at recent trends in MRSA infections associated with health-care settings. From 2005 to 2008, invasive MRSA infections that were thought to develop in hospitals fell by 9.4 percent each year. According to the researchers, preventing invasive MRSA infections has become a national health care priority. And finally: A new study from the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine sheds more light on a common sports injury among high-schoolers. Researchers looked at data from 100 high schools from 2005 to 2009, and found that fractures accounted for about 10 percent of injuries among athletes. Boys had 83 percent of the broken bones, and the highest rate of fractures occurred in football. Parts that were most often fractured included the hands or fingers, wrists, and lower legs. IÕm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV, with the news that doctors are reading; health news that matters to you.