Dr. Joseph Sirven is a first-generation Cuban-American. He is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology and was past Director of Education for Mayo Clinic Arizona. He is editor-in-chief of epilepsy.com and has served U.S. and global governmental agencies including the Institute of Medicine, NASA, FAA, NIH and CDC.

This is terrible news for all infants and their parents, it promises to place an extra burden on medically underserved communities, including Latino families.

RSV is a common respiratory virus—nearly all children contract RSV by the time they turn two.  Usually, RSV causes mild-to-moderate cold-like symptoms.  But in premature infants it can cause severe RSV disease, the most common cause of hospitalization for children under one year of age in the United States.

Instead of basing it s recommendations on clinical data and science, AAP lowered the maximum time for treatment for babies suffering from RSV from five months to three, with no clinical evidence to support such a reduction in care.  The AAP reaffirmed the guidelines last year and has claimed that its goal was “to ensure optimal balance of benefit and cost.”

The problem, of course, is that the cheaper medicines, drugs, and treatments are not always the most effective in the short term—let alone the long-term.

It is important to point out that the thinking behind AAP’s ‘cost-cutting’ focus will eventually affect all American families.  After all, a key premise of Obamacare is that lower overall health care costs can result from transferring power from doctors and patients to a vast network of government bureaucracies, advisory boards, and commissions that will cut care and treatment to patients, either outright or by issuing ‘recommendations’ for the rationing of health care.

The American Academy of Pediatric decision to limit RSV treatments for premature babies mirrors Obamacare’s alarming and counterproductive health care model.

For Latinos, research shows that several factors that place children at higher risk of RSV are disproportionately present in our communities.  And the most recent available report (2008) from the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, shows that 12.1 percent of Hispanic babies are born prematurely, a rate higher than that of non-Hispanic whites.

The most recent available report (2008) from the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, shows that 12.1 percent of Hispanic babies are born prematurely, a rate higher than that of non-Hispanic whites.  Several other factors that place children at higher risk of RSV are disproportionately present in Hispanic communities.

To be sure, cutting medically appropriate and preventive care is a losing proposition for all Americans.  Premature babies with RSV are highly susceptible to a variety of complications that lead to hospitalization.  Premature infants account for nearly half of the hospital charges for all infants (or a total of $5.8 billion per year).  The average charge for the most severe hospital stays is $65,600 for premature newborns compared to $600 for an uncomplicated newborn stay.  None of this takes into account health problems in premature births that can persist for years.

Finally, a report by the March of Dimes shows that the total economic cost (medical, educational, and lost productivity) associated with preterm birth in the United States was at least $26.2 billion (or $51,600 per preterm infant) in 2005 (the most recent data available).

All of this demonstrates the tragedy of analyzing medical treatments exclusively through the short-term prism of costs—a central dynamic of our newly cast health care system.  The only way out is for lawmakers to listen to the American people and replace Obamacare with proven measures that put patient interests first and rely on sound science and clinical evidence.

Our great nation should strive to provide the highest quality health care for all Americans, including of course the 500,000 babies who are born prematurely every year.  How we treat them reflects our basic human values, and foreshadows the disastrous health care rationing that undoubtedly awaits all Americans under Obamacare.

Mario H. Lopez is the president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund, a national advocacy organization that promotes free enterprise, limited government, and individual liberty.

Currently, about one in ten Latinas, over the age of 50, has osteoporosis, but one in two have low bone mass and are at risk for developing it, according to the National Institutes of Health. About 25,000 Latinos, including 15,000 women and 10,000 men, develop spinal fractures each year as a result of osteoporosis– more than twice the number of hip fractures, according to data published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, and researchers expect the number of spinal fractures to grow as the baby boomer generation continues to age.

“It’s a very silent type of process — you don’t know something is wrong until you develop a fracture,” says Dr. Orlando Ortiz of Winthrop University Hospital in New York. “For many years, they thought this was a condition that only affected whites, but time has shown that this is a disease that does not discriminate. It’s been shown in various studies that the prevalence of osteoporosis is the equivalent in the Latino population as compared to the Caucasian population in the last 10 years or so, because you have people living in the same country with the same diet and lifestyle.”

Dr. Ortiz is treating a growing wave of spinal fracture patients with a treatment called balloon kyphoplasty– a minimally invasive procedure where an orthopedic balloon is inflated inside of the fractured bone to lift and return it to the correct position. This newly created cavity is filled with thick bone cement to stabilize the fracture. As a result of the procedure, the angular deformity of the spine is corrected.

Balloon Kyphoplasty – an orthopedic balloon is inflated inside a fractured bone and is then filled with cement. (Courtesy Medtronic Inc.)

Here are tips from Dr. Ortiz on how to prevent/slow down osteoporosis:

1. Identify whether or not you have osteoporosis early on — If you are a post-menopausal female, and there’s a concern you might have it, or a male that got a wrist fracture very easily, you may need a bone density test.

2. Have a diet high in calcium early on — Women who have osteoporosis tend to have low calcium reserves. When you’re a young girl and teenager, that’s when you should be having your calcium.

3. Be active — A sedentary lifestyle is another risk factor for osteoporosis, because bones tend to be weaker and you are more frail.

4. Do not smoke and limit alcohol consumption — Osteoporosis is highly related to diet and lifestyle.

5. Develop a treatment plan — Include a diet that encourages calcium and vitamin D, as well as an exercise plan – as simple as walking. Weight management is important too.

6. Consult your doctor about the possibility of taking medication to treat osteoporosis — Some medication could reduce the amount of bone loss or delay it, thus reducing fractures in the osteoporosis population.

7. In patients who have spine fractures and who are not responding to conservative management — Pain medication, bed rest, and physical therapy is needed. If you are in severe pain, there are procedures that our now available where the broken bone can be treated, including balloon kyphoplasty.

“Osteoporosis is a disease that is not curable, but it is treatable and manageable,” says Dr. Ortiz. “You can live with it, but ignoring it is not a good choice, because it’s a silent type of disease. You can be bedridden and lose your independence…People need to take an active role. It’s like living in a house, and you don’t realize you have termites until the floor caves in.”

This is therapy in a newborn intensive care unit, and research suggests that music may help those born way too soon adapt to life outside the womb.

Some tiny preemies are too small and fragile to be held and comforted by human touch, and many are often fussy and show other signs of stress. Other common complications include immature lungs, eye disease, problems with sucking, and sleeping and alertness difficulties.

Recent studies and anecdotal reports suggest the vibrations and soothing rhythms of music, especially performed live in the hospital, might benefit preemies and other sick babies.

Many insurers won’t pay for music therapy because of doubts that it results in any lasting medical improvement. Some doctors say the music works best at relieving babies’ stress and helping parents bond with infants too sick to go home.

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But amid beeping monitors, IV poles and plastic breathing tubes in infants’ rooms at Chicago’s Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, music therapist Elizabeth Klinger provides a soothing contrast that even the tiniest babies seem to notice

“What music therapy can uniquely provide is that passive listening experience that just encourages relaxation for the patient, encourages participation by the family,” Klinger said after a recent session in Augustin’s hospital room.

The baby’s parents, Lucy Morales and Alejandro Moran, stood at the crib and whispered lovingly to their son as Klinger played traditional lullabies, singing in Spanish and English.

“The music relaxes him, it makes him feel more calm” and helps him sleep better too, Lucy Morales said. “Sometimes it makes us cry.”

Some families request rock music or other high-tempo songs, but Klinger always slows the beat to make it easier on tender ears.

“A lot of times families become afraid of interacting with their children because they are so sick and so frail, and music provides them something that they can still do,” Klinger said, who works full time as a music therapist but her services are provided for free.

Music therapists say live performances in hospitals are better than recorded music because patients can feel the music vibrations and also benefit from seeing the musicians.

More than two dozen U.S. hospitals offer music therapy in their newborn intensive care units and its popularity is growing, said Joanne Loewy, a music therapist who directs a music and medicine program at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.

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Preemies’ music therapy was even featured on a recent episode of the hit TV show “American Idol,” when show finalist Kree Harrison watched a therapist working with a tiny baby at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“Music is such a huge part of our lives and to do something like this, make it a sort of healing process, is a cool thing,” Harrison said on the April 25 episode.

Dr. Natalia Henner, a newborn specialist at Lurie hospital, said studies in nursing journals show music therapy for preemies “does help with promoting growth. And there’s some good literature … saying that the time to discharge is a little bit shorter in babies who’ve been exposed to more music therapy.”

She said it “definitely facilitates bonding” between parents of preemies and other babies too sick to go home.

Loewy led a study published last month in the journal Pediatrics, involving 11 U.S. hospitals. Therapists in the study played special small drums to mimic womb sounds and timed the rhythm to match the infants’ heartbeats. The music appeared to slow the infants’ heartbeats, calm their breathing, and improve sucking and sleeping, Loewy said.

Soozie Cotter-Schaufele, a music therapist at Advocate Children’s Hospital-Park Ridge near Chicago, says soothing rhythmic sounds of music can mimic womb sounds and provide a comforting environment for preemies. She sings and plays a small harp or guitar, and says the sounds help calm tiny babies while they’re undergoing painful medical procedures.

Cotter-Schaufele said she recently heard from a woman whose daughter was born prematurely at her hospital six years ago. She had played the 1960s folk song “Today” for the infant.

The mother reported her daughter “‘still loves that song,” She said ‘She didn’t learn that song from me, she learned it from you,’” Cotter-Schaufele said.

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If you see my mother on one of her revolving days off, she looks like Grandma Lulu and that’s about it.  Not only would you never guess her day job, but you would have no idea how much this 57-year-old woman has completely reinvented herself since I was a child.  Mine was a stay at home mom.  When I woke up in the morning, breakfast was magically on the table and the magic kept sprinkling throughout the day because the house was never dirty and laundry always done.  Now that I am a mother of three, I have absolutely no clue how she did it.  The fact is, it wasn’t magic — she is an incredible mom.

Her only job was as a receptionist in a medical office when I was 16.  That same year, my mother became a widow at the age of 36.  The tragic car accident in 1995 left her alone with three kids, a world of fear and no economic literacy or stability. She continued to work as a receptionist for six years, and hated it.  After 9/11 she answered the call for TSA agents at O’Hare airport.  Together we filled out the application and supporting inquiries as best as possible.  We filled in the gaps of security work with ideas of leadership.  It was a long shot for her, and with fortitude she got the job.

She had a 90-minute commute to work each direction and her shifts varied as the new kid on the block.  She was so committed to success and determined to learn everything.  Our country’s idea of safety had changed so much after 9/11 that her job was always changing with every new policy.  Within a couple of years she felt confident about her role.  Every time there was a new opening above her, she applied.  I was so impressed with how simply she took the rejections.  She would say, ‘Well they have military training,’ and remained unaffected.  Then it started happening for her.  Soon she was the lead, and respected by her peers.  Then she went for the big one, a job in U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  After months of waiting on pins and needles, she got her invitation to travel to Georgia for basic training.  She flew off for her 3-month training, having never traveled alone in her life.  She was running a mile in a certain time and doing every other physical testing the rest of the ‘young kids’ were doing.  The written and physical trainings, and examinations were grueling for her.  She passed all of it with flying colors, and last was the gun qualification.  She went to many extra target practice sessions and was so nervous.  But her nerves weren’t necessary; she made it and was given her shield.

I am so inspired by my mom.  She met my father when she was 17 years old and never attended college.  Her professional experience was small, and she is a very introverted, quiet person.  Life dealt her a really bad hand of cards, and yet like a Phoenix arising from the ashes, she is strength.  She is an independent, financially secure, happy woman that I am so proud to call my mom.

The key:  My mother’s lesson is that regardless of age, life circumstance or adversity, you can always change your stars if you are willing to believe in yourself and work incredibly hard.

Trina M. Fresco, Vice President of Operations for the IT firm smarTECHS.net since 2007 and NBCLatino Contributor, was named one of “50 Powerful Minority Women in Business” by MEA Magazine. Fresco is the Chair of the Chicago Foundation for Women Investment Subcommittee and serves on a number of additional boards & committees. Fresco resides Chicago with her husband, George and their three children Sofia, Giana and Lorenzo. You can contact her at FrescoRealTalk@gmail.com or on Twitter @trinafresco.

As the definition states, los apodos are oftentimes taken from a particular physical characteristic. The first time I heard someone being called “Gorda,” I was completely taken aback and my eyes shifted around the conversation, expecting an awkward silence from the offended party. Instead we carried on talking, and I filed away my questions for later.

In Spain, I asked my host-mom why they called her “Gorda,” when she was actually very slim. “Oh, están bromeando… me lo dicen con cariño,” and she brushed it off. I wasn’t convinced and silently vowed that no one would ever call me gorda no matter how much “love” was added. But was she really OK with the name?

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The day itself was pleasant enough; my husband got me the obligatory ode to mothers greeting card, and my daughter did the obligatory signatory scribble at the bottom of said card (that she can’t even read yet). I also got the standard Mother’s Day gift and dinner and all the stuff you’d expect from people on Mother’s Day.

On my end, I did the obligatory call to my mother and got her the obligatory ode to mothers greeting card and the gift and we all went out to lunch and all the things she would expect from people on Mother’s Day.

But why? Why did I get a card and a gift? Why did I get one for my mom? Because I popped a human out of my vagina? Because my mom popped me out of hers? Because moms everywhere spend time and effort and love on popping out and raising their kids? No. My husband got me a card and a present and taught Adi to say “Happy Mothers Day” because he had to.

I’m not saying that my husband doesn’t love me. I know he does. And I’m not saying that Adi didn’t enjoy helping her father give me presents. I know she did. But I don’t want fake thoughtfulness. Sure I love my mom, but lets face it. I bought that card because a greeting card company told me to. We all went out to lunch because it was Mother’s Day and we had to go out to lunch. My husband does nice things for me all the time. Why did he also have to do something on Mother’s Day?

As much as we might love our moms and baby mamas the whole do something nice for your mom specifically today thing seems a bit forced. It’s not an act of love. It’s an act of peer pressure. Like Valentine’s Day.

Come on. Smoke this motherhood appreciation stuff. Everyone is doing it.

I’m not saying that mothers shouldn’t get gifts or appreciation. I like gifts. I like appreciation. I don’t even mind that much when my name is included in one of those massive “Let’s Tag All The Moms We Know In A Facebook Photo Of A Painting Of A Breastfeeding Woman Because Everyone Loves Mothers” posts. But if you really want to make your mom happy, call her today. Take her out to lunch next week. When you don’t “have” to. Getting flowers doesn’t feel as special when everyone else is getting flowers at the exact same time. It’s great to offer to change the poopy diaper on Mother’s Day, but offer it other days too.

Being a mom is hard. And it takes more than one token day a year to make us feel appreciated. Appreciate moms today. And tomorrow. And whenever you happen to find yourself in a store with gourmet chocolate. Because every day is Mother’s Day.

Rachel Figueroa-Levin is a soapmaker, cofounder and educator at Urban Babywearing, a hyperlocal Inwood blogger and organizer, a political/life/religion/parenting satirist, and all around trouble maker.  She is also the creator of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Spanish-speaking alter ego @elbloombito.  You can reach her via twitter @Jewyorican.

* Overall, the US.. has seen essentially no change in the number of infections that are associated with food compared to the number in 2006-2008.

* Illnesses associated with eating raw or undercooked poultry, raw milk, dairy products, contaminated produce and water, increased by 14 percent in 2012.

* Another bacterium which lives in the sea — most infections are associated with eating raw oysters — have increased 43 percent in 2012, and its trend shows it to be 116 percent higher than it had been from 1996-1998.

* There has been a slight increase of the dangerous type of e-coli, the shiga-toxin-producing e-coli, which had previously been decreasing, returned to levels seen in 2006-2008.

Here are some tips how to maintain food safety and prevent food poisoning.

1. Remember to wash your hands, especially before you touch or prepare any food.

2. Make sure that the cooking surfaces, particularly your kitchen counters, cutting areas or sinks are clean before you place any items for preparation or cutting.

3. Separate raw meats from produce and other fresh foods. Assume that raw chicken and other meats carry bacteria that cause illness. Do not allow these foods to touch surfaces that you will be preparing other foods on.

4. Cook meat, chicken, shellfish and seafood to the proper temperature. The best guide is to follow instructions on the package or use a food thermometer.

5. Refrigerate leftovers as soon as possible.

6. Avoid consuming unpasteurized milk or unpasteurized soft cheese.

7. Pregnant women and individuals who have a weak immune system or liver disease should avoid eating raw or partially cooked seafood, including oysters.

Should you get sick and start to vomit or have diarrhea, remember these tips:

8. Hydration — drinking a lot of water or clear liquids — is the best treatment given that vomiting and diarrhea are often the symptoms of food-related disease and drinking helps to replace the lost fluids.

9. Antibiotics are not required in most cases of food associated infections.

10. If you have serious diarrhea, medications such as loperamide (Imodium®) are useful in people in which there is no fever and no bloody stools.

11. Probiotics have been useful in treating diarrhea, especially traveler’s diarrhea and nonspecific diarrhea in children, but this in not an immediate management item.

If you follow these tips, you should be on your way to avoiding some of the most serious concerns that arise with foodborne illnesses. However, if you do become sick always consult your doctor as some of these cases may require admission to a hospital and further treatment.

Dr. Joseph Sirven is a first-generation Cuban-American. He is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology and was past Director of Education for Mayo Clinic Arizona. He is editor-in-chief of epilepsy.com and has served U.S. and global governmental agencies including the Institute of Medicine, NASA, FAA, NIH and CDC.

In the third “Iron Man” — a series that spent its first two installments glorifying the reckless life of a spoiled, rich genius — Stark, the man inside the metallic exoskeleton, seems to have finally taken a turn toward wellness.

No spoiler alerts are needed for me to point out that, though subtle, Stark set beautiful examples of healthful eating throughout this latest episode.

In a scene set in what appeared to be a familiar chain restaurant of the burger, hot wing and beer variety, Stark joked with a pal in front of a lush vegetable plate of carrots, celery and what appeared to be broccoli.

Later in the movie we see him snack on a sliced apple, working in a room with a cart loaded with fresh fruit and juices. In another scene, Stark tells an ex-girlfriend that he ate a gluten-free waffle for breakfast.

At one point, suffering from despair and fatigue, he asks a young co-conspirator to bring him something to eat — “a tuna fish sandwich.”

To put it bluntly, I didn’t much care for Stark’s boozy, womanizing, arrogant persona in the first two “Iron Man” movies and in “The Avengers.” Yet there I was last weekend, annoying my popcorn-chomping family members as I shook their shoulders every time the ultra-cool playboy made a healthy food choice.

This might sound trivial to anyone who doesn’t agonize over how to slip vegetables and salads into the weekly dinner menu without inspiring a hunger strike. But I have to feed two boys who have spent their whole lives in a society that not only assumes children won’t eat their vegetables, but rarely tries serving them at school or in “kid-friendly” restaurants.

These are children who, from preschool, were taught by their academic institutions that “snacks” are vitamin-fortified sugary cereals and cookies, salty pretzels, or anything that comes in a cheerfully colored crinkly plastic bag.

So Stark modeling healthy food choices on the big screen? This is huge.

Movies today, specifically the kind that are made to appeal to teens, are generally populated by guys desperate to find their next beer, joint or jumbo coffee — that is when they aren’t on an energy drink-fueled quest for junk from the corner store or a fast-food chain.

Hey, I get that the best fiction diligently imitates life. So even though we live in a country where so many children are overweight or obese that federal health officials and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend universal cholesterol screenings for kids between 9 and 11, what else would you expect to see on the silver screen?

We may be a very long way from a time when every kid-centric TV show, web video and big-budget movie features its stars drinking tap water, snacking on nutrient-rich foods and indulging in only occasional, moderately sized treats. But I believe such a utopian entertainment landscape — you can go ahead and call it propaganda if you’d like — could have a deep impact on how children perceive what they should eat.

Processed and fast-food advertisers get most of the blame for enticing children with truly bad-for-you foods such as candy-flavored cereals, stuffed-crust pizzas, packaged lunch kits and fake juices. But rarely do the shows or videos they accompany get scrutinized for modeling poor eating habits.

As it is, young people who grew up watching tween programming crave the whipped-cream topped coffee drinks, brightly-colored smoothie sugar bombs and thin aluminum cans of energy drinks they see their TV and movie counterparts regularly downing without ever gaining a pound or getting sick from being over-caffeinated.

If Hollywood put its mind to combating the country’s childhood obesity epidemic, kids across the land might someday beg their parents for greens like the orphan Juan Pablo in the comedy “Nacho Libre,” who asked Nacho with weary politeness: “How come we can’t ever have just, like, a salad?”

Until that day comes, I have a new rejoinder for the inevitable vegetable complaint on chicken-rice-and-broccoli night: “Well, it’s good enough for Iron Man.”

Esther Cepeda is a syndicated columnist and an NBC Latino Contributor.

I knew I was pregnant the first time 10 days into it, but didn’t immediately feel like a mother.  My very first sensation of motherhood was the flutter of a fish in my belly.  It was a glorious feeling that made me stop what I was doing to register what had just happened.  At one point in my life I had three children under the age of three, which was really chaotic at times, and mommyhood was hard.  I used to feel like my life was a daily marathon.  Now, I feel like the Pied Piper and life is much more manageable.  My children are 8, 6 and soon-to-be 5 years old — sometimes things still get crazy, but life with my monkeys is so much fun.

It is said that gratitude is the secret to happiness.  I am so grateful for the monumental times in my kids’ lives and all the small mommy-moments in between.  My little king, Lorenzo, tells me he loves me over and over.  Every time he says, ‘I love you’ it is so sincere and heartfelt.  He is full of goodness.  I watch my second daughter (Giana) just live, she skips everywhere and has this full-face smile that makes everyone around her happy.  She is filled with joy.  It is such a treat to be in her world.  Rather than looking forward to a Mother’s Day of praise, I always have to pinch myself because I can’t believe I am so lucky.

There are so many secrets that we develop during the sleepless boot camp of newborns and juggling of motherhood.  Those moments are our badges of honor.  Behind them are years of dedication, patience and kindness.  As women we have so much impact on our children, positively or negatively.  This role we have been given will display its legacy on generations.  Together in solidarity, mothers can share the little tricks we figure out to be the best version of ourselves for our mini-mes.  Coming together to support the next group of mothers will strengthen our community.

The commitment of a mother merits recognition every day.  Happy Mother’s Day to my mother, Lucy, and all of the mamis in the world.

The key: Spend a portion of Mother’s Day remembering all of the incredible moments our children give us.  Then pause and soak up the gift of knowing children are a reflection of ourselves.

Trina M. Fresco, Vice President of Operations for the IT firm smarTECHS.net since 2007 and NBCLatino Contributor, was named one of “50 Powerful Minority Women in Business” by MEA Magazine. Fresco is the Chair of the Chicago Foundation for Women Investment Subcommittee and serves on a number of additional boards & committees. Fresco resides Chicago with her husband, George and their three children Sofia, Giana and Lorenzo. You can contact her at FrescoRealTalk@gmail.com or on Twitter @trinafresco.