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A good use of the child health record requires the respect of the confidentiality without compromising its informativeness. The maintenance of the confidentiality must be the subject of specific measurements in very particular cases like the infection by the HIV. The experts must be conscious that the personal child health record remains a tool for bond between the various professionals of health, in particular for an optimal follow-up of the growth and psychomotor development of the child. A specific teaching concerning the good use of the health record is wished in the course of the studies of medicine.

Childhood pain is still poorly understood, neglected and undertreated. The neurophysiological mechanisms of nociception exist before birth. The experience of pain develops during childhood. Its symptomatology has been detailed: sharp emotional reactions and signs of stress during acute pain, antalgic posture, psychomotor atony and denial when pain is prolonged. Specific tools for evaluation are available. Treatment generally calls for the use of peripheral analgesics, and increased intensity of pain can require administration of morphine.

The anaemia most frequently encountered in paediatrics is iron deficiency anaemia. The deficiency may be latent or patent. It may be responsible for repeated infections and interfere with the child's psychomotor development. The disease is most often due to a low intake of dietary iron, and it can be prevented by supplementing the mothers during pregnancy and by an adequate diet. Folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiencies are much rarely encountered. Vitamin E deficiency may result in haemolysis, notably in premature infants.