NEW HYDE PARK, NY – In addition to bringing home their new bundle of joy, mothers who give birth at hospitals in the North Shore-LIJ Health System  will be bringing home a wealth of practical information, courtesy of Steven P. Shelov, MD, who edited the American Academy of Pediatrics’  definitive, all-in-one guide to infant care, entitled “Your Baby’s First Year.”

To compile this book, Dr. Shelov, who serves as associate chief of staff and interim chairman of pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York , drew on the contributions and practical wisdom of more than 100 pediatric subspecialists and an editorial review board. Complete with helpful drawings and diagrams, the book is designed to help new parents navigate the often-confusing waters of their baby’s first year of life.

This revised edition, which includes two new chapters on sleep and allergies, provides authoritative advice on such key aspects of infant care as:

• raising twins, multiples and children with autism;
• prebiotics, probiotics and the Tdap vaccine;
• vital facts on growth, behavior and development;
• breastfeeding, bottle-feeding and introducing solids;
• choosing a child care provider; and
• safety checks for home and car.

“This book is dedicated to all the people who recognize that children are our greatest inspiration in the present and our greatest hope for the future,” said Dr. Shelov, a well-known advocate in the area of child health policy and education, who has been an educator, clinician and professor for the past 35 years.

“This book will be an invaluable resource for the more than 24,000 women who deliver every year at North Shore-LIJ hospitals,” added Adiel Fleischer, MD, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at North Shore-LIJ.

The books will be distributed free of charge to mothers giving birth at: LIJ Medical Center in New Hyde Park, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, Staten Island University Hospital, Forest Hills Hospital, Huntington Hospital, Plainview Hospital and Southside Hospital in Bay Shore.

To learn more about North Shore-LIJ women’s health services, go to: www.northshorelij.com/womenshealth. To find out more about the pediatric services at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, go to: www.northshorelij.com/ccmcny.