Gwenn O'Keeffe

Bio

Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D., F.A.A.P., pediatrician, author, parenting and social media expert, is CEO of Pediatrics Now, a health and communications company dedicated to providing reliable information to today’s busy families. The popular parenting website Pediatrics Now  and nationally syndicated blog Dr. Gwenn Is In are the cornerstones of Pediatrics Now’s work.


Dr. Gwenn is one of the most highly sought after child health and cyber safety experts seen and heard in the media today, with regular appearances in print, online, radio, TV, and in community and national events as an invited speaker. As a writer and quoted expert, Dr. Gwenn has been featured in USA Today, Reuters, Chicago Sun Times, LiveStrong.org, iVillage, and MomLogic, among others. Her TV work includes appearances on NECN, FoxNews Boston, ABC News, Nancy Grace, and Good Morning America. She has been an invited speaker to a multitude of groups including local parenting groups, book stores, libraries, the AAP, the National Association of Medical Communicators, and the Family Online Safety Institute. Dr. O’Keeffe also contributes material and advice to a myriad of corporate groups including WebMD, Symantec, Yahoo!, and Facebook. 


As a Fellow and National Spokeswoman of the American Academy of Pediatrics, she’s on the Executive Committee of the Council on Communications and Media where she’s represented the AAP at the FTC’s Protecting Kids’ Privacy Online: Reviewing The COPPA Rule (June 2010), authored the AAP’s social media parenting tips, and speaks often to the media on behalf of the AAP about the impact of the digital world on today’s kids.


Dr. Gwenn’s newly released book, CyberSafe (10/1/2010, AAP Publishing), continues her journey to help parents keep their kids safe online. The first of its kind on the market by a media-pediatrician, CyberSafe empower parents to participate with their digital kids and teens by understanding how and why they use the digital world. 


Dr. Gwenn  lives in a Massachusetts with her husband and very digital teenage daughters who have taught her more about the online world of kids than any study ever could.



Activity

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    MONDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Being picked on by your brother or sister may seem like a normal part of growing up, but for some kids the bullying may be a source of depression and anxiety, a new study suggests.

    Researchers found that among 3,600 kids in a U.S. survey, those who were...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    MONDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Black and Hispanic children with autism are markedly less likely than children from white families to receive specialty care for complications tied to the disorder, a new study finds.

    Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Bosto...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    THURSDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- The types of TV shows that families watch influences the amount of junk food that preschool children eat, a new study suggests.

    Researchers found that children in homes where parents watch regular TV with commercials had hig...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    MONDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Reducing the number of unnecessary and high-dose CT scans given to children could cut their lifetime risk of associated cancers by as much as 62 percent, according to a new study.

    CT (computed tomography), which uses X-rays to provide doctors with cross...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    MONDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Elementary schools are less likely to sell unhealthy snack foods and drinks if school districts or states have rules that limit the sale of such products, a new study finds.

    However, more than three-quarters of public elementary schools in the United St...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    FRIDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Having babies sleep on their back to reduce their risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) does not affect the development of their ability to roll, according to a new study.

    Some concern existed that the introduction of the Back to Sleep campaign (no...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    MONDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- Certain risk factors during infancy may help explain the higher rate of obesity among black and Hispanic children, according to a new study.

    Rapid infant weight gain, early introduction of solid foods, inadequate sleep and a lack of exclusive breast-fee...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    MONDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- Parents who opt out of vaccinating their children are putting their own kids and others around them at risk of serious illness, finds a study conducted in New York.

    Almost twice as many parents in New York sought religious exemptions from vaccination in ...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    MONDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- Parents who opt out of vaccinating their children are putting their own kids and others around them at risk of serious illness, finds a study conducted in New York.

    Almost twice as many parents in New York sought religious exemptions from vaccination in ...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    MONDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- As the number of adults taking prescription drugs has grown, so has the number of children being accidentally poisoned by them, a new study finds.

    "We found between 2000 and 2009 [that] rates of pediatric exposure to adult medications were increasing," s...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    FRIDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- One in 10 teens admits to using a prescription stimulant or amphetamine to boost their performance in school, but most parents aren't aware of the scope of the problem, a new study finds.

    In an effort to stay alert and get bet...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    FRIDAY, May 31 (HealthDay News) -- In one key way, Brandon Brooking is like millions of other 16-year-old American boys: He loves NASCAR.

    But Brandon is also affected by autism, making it a bit tougher to enjoy the speedway sport up close.

    "Like many people with autism, Brandon fo...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
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    WEDNESDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Seeking to ease a shortage that is threatening the health of preemie babies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday it was importing certain injectable nutrition drugs.

    The products in short supply include injectable drugs used in ...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    WEDNESDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Parts of the brain thought to support consolidation of emotional memories during sleep are less active in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new study.

    This deficit in sleep-related emotional processing may ...Full Article

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Pediatrics:

    TUESDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- More movies approved for young viewers are showing alcohol brands, a trend that could influence teen drinking, researchers say.

    Children's exposure to movie imagery of tobacco and alcohol has been linked to smoking and drinki...Full Article