Children’s Health

Exercise during pregnancy may let mothers significantly reduce their children’s chances of developing diabetes and other metabolic diseases later in life, new research suggests. A study in lab mice has found that maternal exercise during pregnancy prevented the transmission of metabolic diseases from an obese parent – either mother or father – to child. If

A home-based parenting programme to prevent childhood behavior problems, which very unusually focuses on children when they are still toddlers and, in some cases, just 12 months old, has proven highly successful during its first public health trial. The six-session programme involves providing carefully-prepared feedback to parents about how they can build on positive moments

Statewide stay-at-home orders put in place as Tennessee fought to control the spread of coronavirus last March were associated with a 14% lower rate of preterm birth, according to a research letter published today in JAMA Pediatrics. Preterm infants have higher morbidity and mortality risks than babies born at term. Senior author Stephen Patrick, MD,

A pioneering study led by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals will investigate whether Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) could help reduce the worryingly high number of children who are afraid of the dentist. Around one in three children are scared of going to the dentist, leading to dental avoidance, and end up with

In the world of neurodevelopment, one thing is clear: the earlier the intervention the better. Infancy is a critical time in brain development, and neuroscientists are increasingly identifying factors that can negatively impact cognition and ones that can improve cognition early in life. At the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS), researchers from

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) dramatically increased children’s preventive healthcare while reducing out-of-pocket costs, according to a new Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) study. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study found that checkups with out-of-pocket costs dropped from 54.2% of visits in 2010 (the year the ACA passed) to 14.5% in 2018.

A new study by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers suggests that executive control differences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be the result of a unique approach, rather than an impairment. Executive control difficulties are common in individuals with autism and are associated with challenges completing tasks and managing time. The study, published in Biological

Sound sleep plays a critical role in healing traumatic brain injury, a new study of military veterans suggests. The study, published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, used a new technique involving magnetic resonance imaging developed at Oregon Health & Science University. Researchers used MRI to evaluate the enlargement of perivascular spaces that surround blood vessels

As research into genetic causes of disease began to grow, Le Bonheur Pediatrician-in- Chief Jon McCullers, MD, knew it was time to start building a pediatric DNA biorepository. So in 2015, Le Bonheur’s Children’s Foundation Research Institute (CFRI) created the Biorepository and Integrative Genomics (BIG) Initiative and began collecting DNA samples from hospitalized children at

Dietary and infant feeding guidelines should be strengthened to include more practical advice on the best ways to support children to learn to like and eat vegetables, say nutrition and dietetics researchers from the Flinders University Caring Futures Institute. With the Australian Health Survey showing only 6% of children aged 2-17 years are eating the

As COVID-19 infection rates continue to fall, Massachusetts officials are signaling it’s almost time to end remote learning and send all school-aged children back to the classroom. While emerging data suggest young children and schools have not been primary drivers of the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence to guide best practices to prevent the spread of the

Overweight low-income mothers of young kids ate fewer fast-food meals and high-fat snacks after participating in a study – not because researchers told them what not to eat, but because the lifestyle intervention being evaluated helped lower the moms’ stress, research suggests. The 16-week program was aimed at preventing weight gain by promoting stress management,

Black women have 80% higher risk of preterm birth between 32 and 33 weeks of pregnancy if a Black person who lives in their neighborhood is killed by police during the pregnancy, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley. The study by scientists at the UCSF California Preterm Birth

Exposure to SARS-Co-V2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can put otherwise healthy children and adolescents at risk for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare but possibly life-threatening pediatric condition that can cause severe inflammation in organs like the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys and gastrointestinal system. Diagnosing and treating MIS-C — which has affected

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is common and concerning, but few therapeutic options exist for pregnant mothers who receive this diagnosis. IUGR is a condition in which a baby in the womb is measuring small for its gestational age, often because of issues with the placenta, resulting in compromised or insufficient transfer of oxygen and nutrients

Extremely preterm infants can suffer from a life-threatening inflammation of the gut. A new clinical study has shown that supplements of a lactic acid bacterium may have positive effects by increasing the diversity of intestinal bacteria in these infants. The study has been led by researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, and published in the scientific

A unique curved barrier has been designed by researchers at Imperial College London, who publish new findings in the peer-reviewed journal Cities & Health on how the structure can protect people from the damaging effects of air pollution. With air pollution becoming an increasingly dangerous global health challenge, researchers are constantly working on innovating novel

Blood pressure measurements in children and adolescents should be taken from both arms after new research showed substantial differences could be seen depending on which arm was used. The study, led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in the Journal of Hypertension, found even a small difference in blood pressure measurements between

If past natural disasters have taught us anything about their effects on pregnant women and developing babies, it is to pay close attention, for the added stress will surely have an impact on them. Amanda Venta, associate professor of psychology at the University of Houston, is sounding that alarm as it relates to the COVID-19

A new SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, developed by giving a key protein’s gene a ride into the body while encased in a measles vaccine, has been shown to produce a strong immune response and prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and lung disease in multiple animal studies. Scientists attribute the vaccine candidate’s effectiveness to strategic production of the antigen