Inside Pediatrics Children's Hospital of Alabama

If you’re an expectant mother, you’ve probably given some thought to breastfeeding. In this episode, Children’s of Alabama neonatologist Allison Black, M.D., explains the benefits of breastfeeding for the baby and the mother. She provides answers to some of the most common concerns new mothers have about breastfeeding. Black also describes the Project HOME initiative, a quality improvement project she leads to improve the percentage of NICU babies receiving human milk.

Gunshot injuries are becoming more common among children, and these injuries can affect a child for life. As a physical rehabilitation medicine physician at Children’s of Alabama, Erin Swanson, M.D., helps patients who have been affected by firearm injuries. In this episode, she explains the impact a gunshot injury can have on a child and their family. She shares advice for parents on how to keep their children safe.

Firearm injuries among children have increased exponentially over the last decade. Dr. Jennifer McCain has seen it as a nocturnist in the emergency department at Children’s of Alabama. In this episode, McCain—who also has 12 years of experience as a pediatrician—explains the role pediatricians and parents can play in driving down these numbers.

The mental health needs of children have increased exponentially in recent years, and doctors are facing challenges to meet those needs. That’s why Children’s of Alabama developed Pediatric Access to Telemental Health Services. Known as the PATHS program, it helps connect patients with providers, particularly in areas where access to mental health resources may be limited. In this episode, Dr. Vinita Yalamanchili explains how the program is helping specialists, primary care providers and patients.

The Children’s of Alabama Critical Care Transport team has been around since 1983, transporting critically ill and injured children between medical facilities across the state and beyond. Whenever a child needs a level of care beyond what’s offered in their area, the team transports them to a facility that offers that level of care. In this episode, you'll hear from program director Jason Peterson about the impact the program has made, how it has evolved, and what the future holds.

After losing her son due to a complication of sepsis, Judy Fuller decided to pursue a career in nursing. Now, she’s a sepsis expert who plays a key role in Children’s of Alabama’s sepsis strategies. In this episode, she explains why sepsis is so difficult to detect and the impact that nurses have in preventing and treating it.