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Background: To evaluate if there are departures from the WHO Child Growth Standards (WHO-CGS) in postnatal growth of healthy 'Canadian' children in Ontario up to age 2 years, including by infant feeding and ethnicity.Methods: We included data on 9964 healthy, singleton children born in Ontario, Canada. Smoothed weight, length and body mass index (BMI) percentile curves were generated using quantile regression for the Canadian cohort from birth to age 2 years. Differences in percentile values were calculated comparing Canadian children vs. the WHO-CGS.Results: Canadian children under age 2 years were longer than the WHO-CGS at the 10th (0.8 cm), 50th (1.3 cm) and 90th (1.9 cm) percentiles. Canadian children incrementally surpassed the WHO-CGS in weight after age 6 months, and in BMI after 9 months. By age 2 years, the 50th percentile weight of Canadian males was 823 g (95% confidence interval (CI) 680, 965) higher than the WHO-CGS 50th percentile. Weight differences were seen regardless of feeding practice, and were greatest among children of mothers born in Canada and Europe/Western nations, and least for those of East Asian/Pacific or South Asian heritage. Among Canadian breastfed males, 18% (95% CI 16, 19) of newborns and 26% (95% CI 20, 33) toddlers aged 2 years were classified by WHO-CGS as weighing >90th percentile - much higher than the expected rate of 10%. Similarities were seen for differences in BMI.Conclusions: Healthy Canadian infants/toddlers are longer and heavier than the WHO-CGS norms. Explanations for these discrepancies require further elucidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The goals of our study were to describe the types of family accommodation for parents of hospitalized children and to examine their influence on the pediatric hospital experience.Methods: This multi-site cohort survey included 10 hospitals in Ontario Province, Canada. Participants were parents of inpatient children (n = 1240). Main outcome measures included ratings of three parent-reported measures of hospital experience: overall hospital experience; willingness to recommend the hospital to family or friends; and how much the accommodation type helped parent stay involved in their child's hospital care.Results: Parents most often stayed in the child's room (74.7%), their own home (12.3%), hotel (4.0%) or a Ronald McDonald House (3.0%). Accommodation varied based on hospital, parent and child factors. Length of stay and the child's health status were significant predictors for overall hospital experience and recommending the hospital to family or friends, but accommodation type was not. Families who stayed at a Ronald McDonald House reported greater involvement in their child's care compared with other accommodation types (odds ratio: 1.54-20.73 for contrasted accommodation types).Conclusion: Use of different overnight accommodations for families of hospitalized pediatric patients in Canada is similar to a previous report of U.S. family hospital accommodations. In contrast to the previous U.S. findings, Canadian hospital experience scores were lower and accommodation type was not a significant predictor of overall hospital experience or willingness to recommend the hospital. In Canada, as in the U.S., families who stayed at a Ronald McDonald House reported that this accommodation type significantly improved their ability to be involved in their child's care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the important instrumental and emotional role that parents play in the lives of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and congenital heart disease (CHD), qualitative researchers have not examined the similarities and differences between caregivers’ experiences. Informed by thematic analysis, in this qualitative study I explored what it is like to care for a child with a chronic illness from the perspective of CF and CHD parents at a children’s hospital in Canada. Pediatric caregiver stress was qualitatively different between CF and CHD parents, whereas temporal dilemmas were unique sources of stress for CF parents only. To alleviate stress, all parents drew on a three-way, interrelated process to comprehend their child’s illness and acquire perspective. By opening up the social worlds of parents, I illuminate important similarities and differences in the caregiving experience of parents of youth with CF and CHD, and offer novel contributions to the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]