Feature Channels: Family and Parenting

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Following a few simple guidelines can help make Halloween fun, not scary, for teens and kids.

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West Virginia University’s new Inhalation Facility will be the home for research and collaborations that measure, identify and discover how the particles we breathe affect our health.

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Women born by Caesarean section due to a fetopelvic disproportion (FDP) are more than twice as likely to develop FDP when giving birth than women born naturally. This is the conclusion of a study by a team of evolutionary biologists at the University of Vienna headed by Philipp Mitteroecker. Using a mathematical model, the team was able to explain the paradoxical phenomenon that natural selection did not lead to the reduction in the rates of obstructed labour. Empirical data also support that the regular use of C-sections has already triggered an evolutionary increase of FPD rates.

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Pregnant women who had low socioeconomic status during childhood and who have poor family social support appear to prematurely age on a cellular level, potentially raising the risk for complications, a new study has found.

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Researchers from Ohio State and UNC Charlotte found that three months after the birth of their first child, on days when couples were not working, men were most often relaxing while women did housework or child care.

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The goals of this article are to illuminate the historical context and shifting trends surrounding multiracial individuals in America, and to share research findings on factors that influence racial identity development. Recommendations to support multiracial youth and their families will also be described

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A new study of national survey information gathered on more than 12,000 Hispanic children from immigrant and U.S.-native families found that although they experience more poverty, those from immigrant families reported fewer exposures to such adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as parental divorce and scenes of violence.

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Research led by scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) demonstrated that epidural medication had no effect on the duration of the second stage of labor, normal vaginal delivery rate, incidence of episiotomy, the position of the fetus at birth or any other measure of fetal well-being the researchers investigated. The study compared the effects of catheter-infused, low-concentration epidural anesthetic to a catheter-infused saline placebo in this double-blinded, randomized trial of 400 women.

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Researchers have known for decades that fevers in the first trimester of pregnancy increase risk for some heart defects and facial deformities such as cleft lip or palate. Exactly how this happens is unclear. Duke researchers now have evidence indicating that the fever itself, not its root source, is what interferes with the development of the heart and jaw during the first three to eight weeks of pregnancy.

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The book, written by Eric Rasmussen, gives parents the training necessary to help kids process the negative and absorb the positive effects from all forms of media.

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For the first time, researchers have evidence of exactly what dads are doing while moms are taking care of housework or tending to their child. The results will be disappointing for those who expected more gender equity in modern society.

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The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health has awarded Wayne State University $2,063,188 for a new study that will analyze longitudinal data spanning 20 years collected from five U.S. cohorts, including 480 African-American mothers and children in the Detroit Longitudinal Cohort Study, to take a closer look at the key developmental outcomes and prenatal alcohol exposure levels that characterize FASD.

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Research led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found meeting with fertility specialists and parental recommendations play key roles in decisions at-risk male cancer patients make about fertility preservation

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Some kids like to be scared on Halloween, while others prefer to grab the candy and run. No kid enjoys allergy and asthma symptoms. Kids who suffer from food allergies can find Halloween particularly frightful if they are worried a treat might send them to the emergency room.

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It’s not uncommon for new parents to relocate in search of neighborhoods with better schools, safer streets and healthier, more kid-friendly activities. But a new study led by University of California, Irvine sociologist Jennifer Kane has found that living in such neighborhoods before a baby is born protects against the risks of poor birth outcomes.

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When a tragedy strikes, young children will look to their parents to interpret the world for them and parents may struggle to find a way to help their children understand a world that could suddenly seem like a very threatening place.

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It is often claimed that people who are bilingual are better than monolinguals at learning languages. Now, the first study to examine bilingual and monolingual brains as they learn an additional language offers new evidence that supports this hypothesis, researchers say.

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Milken Institute SPH received $2.66 million from the NIH to study Latino youth in the hopes of informing interventions that strengthen families, schools and neighborhoods in ways that can help keep young people healthy and academically successful.

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If you're one of those lucky individuals with high motivation and who actively pursues personal growth goals, thank your family and friends who support you.

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An estimated 275 fewer children were born in Flint, Michigan, while the city was using lead-contaminated water from the Flint River, according to findings by researchers from West Virginia University and the University of Kansas.

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A new study suggests that physiological stress in premature infants combined with separation from their mothers may have lasting effects into adulthood. In clinical studies, these factors have been found to increase the risk of obesity and insulin resistance, leading to metabolic disorders such as metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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Relationships with our mothers and siblings continue to have an effect on our well-being, particularly at midlife. A new study led by an Iowa State University researcher found that tension with our mothers and siblings is associated with symptoms of depression.

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A new study by scientists in the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions has shown that pregnant smokers are more likely to quit if they can learn to manage negative emotions that lead to smoking.

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The U.S. birth rate hasn’t changed for two generations of teenage girls, but other aspects of young parenthood are shifting, especially regarding young fathers, according to new Indiana University research.

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Olivia the Ovary and Timothy the Testis are the dancing, jaunty stars of The New You, That’s Who, a new series of animated music videos aimed at helping kids ages 10 to 14 understand puberty and reproduction. The three videos are part of Reprotopia, a new site launched by Northwestern University that offers reproductive health education for all ages.

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Everybody wants a healthy life for their baby. Black babies are more likely to be born prematurely, which puts them at risk for death and developmental problems. In fact, a third of all infant deaths are preterm-related. The critical period in preterm babies’ lives is when they are just born and are in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The care they receive is vital to a healthy future.

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An international team of researchers reports that when children are praised for being smart not only are they quicker to give up in the face of obstacles they are also more likely to be dishonest and cheat. Kids as young as age 3 appear to behave differently when told “You are so smart” vs “You did very well this time.”

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The calculator estimates the impact of differences in breastfeeding rates, providing policy makers and advocates with ways to approximate return on investment for measures that help enable breastfeeding.

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Women who receive a breast cancer diagnosis while they are still young enough to bear children can take time to freeze their eggs and embryos without fear of delaying their cancer treatment, according to research by UC San Francisco scientists who have helped develop a faster fertility preservation technique that can achieve in two weeks what used to take a month or longer.

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While recent research has shown that loneliness can play a role in early death, psychologists are also concerned with the mechanisms by which social relationships and close personal ties affect health. A special issue of American Psychologist, the flagship journal of the American Psychological Association, offers an overview of the science and makes the case for psychological scientists to work together to make close relationships a public health priority.

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Two new studies led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggest that the bevy of tools available to assess and address childhood adversity and trauma, as well as the interconnected webs of relationships among families and the providers who care for children, are key to healing the effects of these potentially life-altering circumstances.

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Each fall, parents pack their college freshmen off to school, fingers crossed for a solid start on the road to adulthood. But some students don’t find their footing and return home after a semester or two to regroup.

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As the number of highly educated women has increased in recent decades, the chances of "marrying up" have increased significantly for men and decreased for women, according to a new study led by a University of Kansas sociologist.

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Children sleep more poorly if their mothers suffer from insomnia symptoms – potentially affecting their mental wellbeing and development - according to new research by the University of Warwick and the University of Basel.

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Whether you’re a parent filling your child’s lunchbox, or a university student on a budget, UNLV instructor and registered dietitian nutritionist Samantha Coogan has tips for keeping that midday meal nutritious, delicious, and affordable.

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The National Institutes of Health awarded a new $3.5 million grant to the University of Notre Dame’s William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families in support of a project for families that include a child with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

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Parents and siblings of children with limited speech who took an innovative training program created by a Michigan State University scholar significantly improved their ability to communicate with the special needs youth.

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CSU Fullerton psychology professor Dr. Allen Gottfried has spent nearly 40 years researching different types of giftedness and how this trait helps kids develop into successful adults.

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Mammal embryos shed paternal mitochondria within days of fertilization, perhaps to ensure the offspring a healthy life, a new study shows. Researchers from the California Institute of Technology will present their findings today at the American Physiological Society’s Physiological Bioenergetics: Mitochondria from Bench to Bedside conference in San Diego.

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Early placement of a hormonal IUD is a safe, long-term birth control method that does not negatively affect women who want to breastfeed their baby.

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Scientists have found distinctive portions of genetic material—known as lncRNAs—that help sperm develop. Male mice lacking a particular lncRNA have low sperm count, suggesting lncRNAs could represent novel infertility drug targets.

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People tend to adjust behaviors across their lifespans as they adopt new roles – such as marriage or parenting – that are incompatible with prior behaviors. The transition to parenthood appears to be particularly relevant for women, leading to a reduction in alcohol consumption. This study of maternal alcohol use is the first to focus on age at transition to motherhood as a predictor of trajectories of risky drinking during a 17-year span.

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he Importance of Responding Well to Children’s Emotional Distress

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Study uses fMRI brain scans to document relationship between neural activity and risk for obesity

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A screening program conducted by University of Alabama at Birmingham Callahan Eye Hospital ophthalmologists is helping cut negative outcomes from ROP in infants by half.

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What parents are most worried about as their children prepare to head back to school.

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A new study has found that sugars in mother's' milk do not just provide nutrition for babies but also help protect them from bacterial infections, making them a new class of antimicrobial agent.

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Raising the minimum wage by $1 per hour would result in a substantial decrease in the number of reported cases of child neglect, according to a new study co-authored by an Indiana University researcher.

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Students will soon make the often-tricky transition to a new school year, and among these students are those identified with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or other developmental/behavioral differences.