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# This Week In Health: Licking Your Baby's Pacifier Clean

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6zgUls6a.m3u8" -->
## Video: This Week In Health: Licking Your Baby's Pacifier Clean

[Watch (HLS stream): This Week In Health: Licking Your Baby's Pacifier Clean](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6zgUls6a.m3u8) (2:26)

![This Week In Health: Licking Your Baby's Pacifier Clean](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6zgUls6a/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2013-05-10. Chris Christie's weight-loss surgery, genetic testing for prostate cancer, and why licking your baby's pacifier clean isn't such a bad thing._


---

Jul 27, 2023 3:34 PM UTC

---

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### Guilty Dog Apologizes for Stealing Baby's Toy

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### Why a Baby's Laugh Will Make You Buy

---


## Transcript

Governor Chris Christie's secret surgery. A new genetic test for predicting prostate cancer. And why licking your baby's pacifier clean, isn't such a bad thing. Here's this week's health news. [ MUSIC ] New Jersey Governor Chris Christie admitted this week to the New York Post that he had had secret gastric lap band surgery in February. About 300, 000 of these procedures have been performed. And in most cases, people can expect to lose anywhere from 40 % to 60 % of their excess body weight. News of the surgery sparked a lot of expectations that Christie was thinking about a presidential run in 2016, but he says that it was his 50th birthday and his desire to be healthy for his four children that prompted him to do the surgery.

[ MUSIC ] Researchers found that paediatricians who treat children for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD may not be always be following recommended guidelines. Current recommendations say that preschoolers should start with behavior therapy instead of drugs, but in most cases drugs are the first line therapy for these patients. And it's not necessarily that the doctors are to blame. For some families, finding a good quality therapist and making the time commitment is too much of a burden. [ MUSIC ] You've probably seen it done a lot of times. A mom picks up a pacifier that her baby has dropped onto the floor and licks it clean before giving it back.

Well it turns out the practice is a good thing, because a mom's saliva can contain antibodies and other immune cells that can actually boost a baby's still- developing immune system. [ MUSIC ]. A new genetic test can predict which prostate cancers are more aggressive. And that means men will be able to know whether they should have additional treatments and therapies to treat their cancer. Or whether they don't really need additional biopsies or operations that could expose them to complications and unneccessary risks. [ MUSIC ] The annual State of the World's Mothers report was released this week.

And one of the more shocking revelations was that 1 million babies die within 24 hours of being born each year. And about 3 million babies die within their first month. But the real tragedy is that most of these deaths are preventable. [ MUSIC ] Just having an antiseptic to clean the umbilical cord for example, could reduce a lot of these fatalities. There's more on these stories and other health news, on the health and family section on time. com. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

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