Passive smoking and exposure to mobile phones (or tablets) are on the rise in the first two years of life – breaking latest news

Beware of smoking, but not secondhand smoke. In difficulty when it comes to transporting your child in the car correctly fastened to the seat, but “without limits” in exposing the children in front of the TV, mobile phones or tablets. The results of 2022 report of the «Surveillance 0-2 years» systemwhich monitors the habits that affect the health of the little ones (0-2 years old) and which in the 2022 edition saw over 35,000 mothers interviewed, shows that the majority of them are careful to have a lifestyle that protects the health of their child, except in some cases. Above all, he is in the dock passive smoking: despite the innumerable risks, including low birth weight, prematurity, a greater probability of causing the child to contract diseases of the lower respiratory tract, 6.4% of the interviewees declared that they had smoked during pregnancy, 8. 7% breastfeeding ebetween 27.4% and 46.6% expose their child to secondhand smoke due to at least one parent or other family member who smokes. The data regarding alcohol consumption in pregnancy and while breastfeeding is better: 18.6% said they had used alcoholic beverages a maximum of 1-2 times a month and only 3.7% more than 3-4 times.

Exposure to screens and reading

Despite pediatricians advise against the use of digital devices under two yearsand limit their use afterwards, because they can impair the quality of sleep and contribute to the development of emotional and social disorders, 22.1% of babies aged 2-5 months spend time in front of a TV, computer, tablet or mobile phone with a territorial gap ranging from 13.6% to 30.3% (in the South), while in 58.3% of cases, children of the same age group never read a book in the week preceding the interview. The more the children grow, the higher the level of exposure to devices and less exposure to books. The little ones between 11 and 15 months they get to be exposed to screens for at least 1-2 hours a day in 38.3% of cases and in
48,5%
they are never stimulated with reading.

Safety in the car and in the cradle

On the front of car safety, 19.3% of the interviewees (percentage that reaches 29.7% in some areas of the South) with babies between 2-5 months
he said he had difficulty transporting his child correctly fastened to the car seat. Since it arrives at 47.0% in the 11-15 month age group. As for safety during the nanna it turns out that two thirds of the mothers interviewed (with a range between 53.2% and 79%) put their baby to sleep in the supine position, face up, as recommended to prevent SIDS (sudden death syndrome in crib).

The first thousand days

The first thousand days include the nine months of pregnancy and the first two years of life and are considered “the golden age” to invest in the health, even future, of the unborn. This is in fact the period in which various organs develop, among all the brain, which thanks to their plasticity can be affected, for better or for worse, by exposure to various factors. It has now been scientifically proven that some habits, and lifestyle in general, are able to influence and modify the health trajectories of the newborn even in adulthood and influence the development of cognitive and social-relational skills. Hence the project «Surveillance 0-2 years» of the Ministry of Health and the Istituto Superiore della Sanità, in collaboration with the Regions, which aims to collect information on the main determinants of health in young children to produce useful indicators for making correct prevention policies, in line with the directives of the World Health Organization.