Liberty Pediatrics Ann Arbor

11/12/2025

We’ve never even heard of anyone in our practice using ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula, and it is just 1% of all the formula used in the united states, but if you have any you should stop using it immediately because some lots have been contaminated with botulism.

If your baby under one has any of the following symptoms please call, or if they are severe go directly to the emergency room. Difficulty feeding (sucking and swallowing), a weak and altered cry, or lack of head control.

Please ignore the propaganda in orange at the top of the page, but here is more information from the CDC:

Details on an outbreak of infant botulism linked to infant formula, November 2025.

10/28/2025

If you’re pregnant this RSV season (September to January), the RSV vaccine can protect your baby from the moment they’re born.

If you didn't get the RSV vaccine in pregnancy, there is also a monoclonal antibody that can be given to your baby from birth up to 8 months of age to protect your little one! Ask us about it.

RSV is a highly contagious virus that spreads through close contact and is dangerous for babies and young children. If you’re pregnant this RSV season, which lasts from September to January, learn how the RSV vaccine can protect your baby from the moment they’re born. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3ZVIrXb

10/14/2025

Protein supplements are wildly popular, but Consumer Report’s tests of 23 products found that more than two-thirds of them contain more lead in a single serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day.

"Children and pregnant people are most vulnerable because lead can damage the developing brain and nervous system, which has the potential to cause neurological issues, learning delays, and behavioral problems. But chronic lead exposure has also been linked to immune suppression, reproductive problems, kidney damage, and high blood pressure in adults."

It's important to note that it's not hard to get enough protein. Americans, on average, get way more than enough. Consider a fruit/greens and yogurt/kefir smoothie instead of a protein shake, and you could eat a handful of nuts with it, or throw in some nut butter!

Nearly all the plant-based products tested had elevated lead levels: vegan powders had 9x as much lead as dairy and 2x as much as beef. Though dairy-based powders had the lowest levels, half were still too contaminated for safe daily use.

Most protein powders are considered dietary supplements (rather than food), so they fall into a regulatory grey area. There's no federal limit on the amount of lead they can contain and neither manufacturers nor the FDA have to prove these products are safe before they're sold. This is the case for all dietary supplements. There are currently about 12,000 registered supplement manufacturers, and last year the FDA inspected only 600 of them! When the agency does do inspections, it mainly focuses on domestic manufacturers, which is a problem because tons of these products/ingredients are sourced from foreign factories.

CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.

09/27/2025

Please don’t waste one minute of your life feeling guilty about using Tylenol.

“The “report” made a grave mistake: it underestimated parents and placed an undue burden of anxiety and guilt on them instead of empowering them to make informed decisions. Science is ongoing, but for now, the balance of evidence shows this: There is no causal link between Tylenol use and autism.

To all the mothers out there, you are doing amazing.”

Nuance and empowerment instead of underestimation.

08/29/2025

We will be closed Saturday August 30 and Monday September 1 for the holiday weekend. Hope you all have a fun and safe time!

08/04/2025

We are so relieved that Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has announced that it is recommending covid vaccines for all people 6 months and older! Thank you to the MDHHS staff for making this public statement, which must feel stressful given the amount of misinformation that's out there about the vaccines. We totally agree with MDHHS and urge everyone to get theirs this Fall. We plan to have them available as soon as the new formulation comes out (and now for those turning 6 months or who have never had one). There is some possibility that some evil insurance executives will decide they are not covered; if that happens we will charge families only what they cost us, not a penny more.

07/09/2025

Edited: YOU HAVE TO LEAN OUT THE WINDOW AND TELL THE WORKER THAT YOU'RE COMING TO THE DOCTOR. This is a totally ridiculous system, and we are in contact with the Road Commission to get them to do it more efficiently. Construction on Liberty in front of the office will go on all this month. Local traffic WILL be allowed, and all businesses will be open. The county says access will be quicker from Wagner than from Maple or Scio Ridge roads, but all the access points will be available.

05/22/2025

What you need to know about preventing tick exposures.

It’s tick time! Make sure your family is ready.

Lyme disease can be transmitted by the bite of an infected black-legged tick (aka deer tick). Today’s post will highlight prevention. Later, we will post about what to do if you find an attached tick, or suspect a tick bite. When in doubt, call us! 734-994-5858.

Prevention Tips:
1. Wear long pants tucked into socks, shirt tucked into pants, and a hat when outdoors in nature. Spray shoes, socks, clothing, and hat with DEET, or wear tick repellent clothing treated with permethrin (probably even better than DEET). Tiny larval ticks can crawl through the material of socks, so repellent is necessary. Permethrin should not be applied to skin, only to clothing.
2. Stay in the middle of nature trails, avoiding leaf litter and grasses/low vegetation along the edge of the path.
3. In the fall, rake leaf piles for kids to play in into the middle of the yard, and avoid using the leaves from the yard perimeter for leaf pile play (leave about 5 feet of perimeter leaves to clean up more carefully).
4. When you get back from being in nature, strip and do a body tick check, including head, hairline, and behind the ears. Clothing could have ticks on it, so best to wash and dry right away. Ticks can survive the washing machine, but not a hot clothes dryer. It’s recommended to put clothing thru the dryer first, then wash it.
5. When sitting on the toilet, make a habit of doing a daily below-the-belt tick check – look for tiny nymphal and larval ticks, which can be as small as a poppy seed!
6. Eliminate tick habitat in your yard. Trim shrubs and low branches, and rake and remove leaves, especially around borders, wood piles, stone walls, or sheds.
7. Discourage wildlife in your yard by fencing to keep out deer, and reducing habitat for mice and chipmunks which support the larval stage of deer ticks. Birdfeeders attract deer and rodents that may bring ticks to your yard.
8. Consider perimeter treatments with bifenthrin or permethrin if you have shady, cool, moist borders in your yard. Usually 2-3 applications in mid-May, mid-June, and mid-October work best.
9. Talk to your veterinarian about protecting your pets from ticks.

More about Lyme and ticks in Washtenaw County: https://www.washtenaw.org/1813/Lyme-Ticks

04/03/2025

As of yesterday there is a new car seat law in Michigan. Here are the major changes:

Children must ride rear-facing until they’re 2-years-old or they outgrow the manufacturer’s height/weight limits of their car seat.

Previous guidance was until they were age 1 and weighed at least 20 pounds.

Kids will be required to use a harnessed car seat one additional year as well, until they’re at least 5 years old, unless they outgrow the car seat’s limits.

Unchanged rules that people often don't know about:

Booster seats with a shoulder and lap belt will remain required for children under age 8, and those shorter than 4 feet 9 inches. A child between the age of 8 and 13 could be restrained in a booster seat until reaching the weight or height limit of the seat, as set by the manufacturer.

All children younger than 13 have to sit in the backseat, as long as the vehicle has one.

Beginning April 2, children under 2 have to sit in a rear-facing child car seat.

03/31/2025

There are several studies going on at University of Michigan for kids with stuttering. If you're interested, please check it out!

Become a brain scientist!

03/25/2025

The recent Consumer Reports article about contaminants in infant formula has many people worried, but in this analysis of the data by Dr. Jessica Knurick, PhD, RDN, she points out that there really isn’t much to worry about. Here are the most notable summary paragraphs:

“None of the formulas tested exceeded EU limits for any contaminant, except for the detection of BPA in one product.

More than half of the formulas tested contained low or no detectable levels of contaminants.

And even the formulas that did contain lead or inorganic arsenic tested below the action levels set by the FDA’s [2024] Closer to Zero initiative for lead and below the EU’s actionable level for inorganic arsenic.”

Cutting through the fear-based narratives to focus on facts, science, and real solutions

03/14/2025

For those of you thinking of having more kids, we thought this article might be helpful. It shows that Omega-3 supplements during pregnancy can decrease the risk of food allergies for babies and children.

Omega-3 supplementation has been reported to modulate immune responses and prevent food allergies among children; however, findings are inconsistent, and the timing of supplementation, which is critical, has not been thoroughly investigated.