Category: Pregnancy

A new study from researchers at Western University and Queen’s University definitively shows that regular exposure to THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, during pregnancy has significant impact on placental and fetal development. With more than a year since the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, the effects of its use during pregnancy are […]

Have you ever played with a baby and felt a sense of connection, even though they couldn’t yet talk to you? New research suggests that you might quite literally be “on the same wavelength,” experiencing similar brain activity in the same brain regions. A team of Princeton researchers has conducted the first study of how […]

A major study led by researchers at La Trobe University in Australia has identified key themes that will be used to inform strategies to support Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents in the first years of their children’s lives. The Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future project aims to break the cycle of […]

A team of South Australian researchers has cracked a rare gene variant for a disorder that causes severe neurodegeneration in infants. The previously baffling condition sees a normal healthy child start to lose muscle tone and motor skills, ultimately losing the capacity to walk and use language. The children go on to experience epileptic encephalopathy […]

Little is known about how women manage emotional distress during high-risk pregnancies, but Rutgers researchers learned that without psychosocial support, women struggle with fears and tears while feeling isolated and worried. The study appears in the journal Psychology of Women Quarterly. About 15 percent of pregnancies worldwide are high-risk, making premature delivery, low infant birth […]

Mothers’ and babies’ brains can work together as a ‘mega-network’ by synchronising brain waves when they interact. The level of connectivity of the brain waves varies according to the mum’s emotional state: when mothers express more positive emotions their brain becomes much more strongly connected with their baby’s brain. This may help the baby to […]

During early adolescence, especially the transition to middle school, kids face a number of challenges both socially and academically. Peer rejection, bullying, and conflict with friends are common social stressors. These challenges can affect adolescents’ ability to form positive peer relationships, a key developmental task for this age group. Parents can act as social “coaches,” […]

Ever since humans domesticated the dog, the faithful, obedient and protective animal has provided its owner with companionship and emotional well-being. Now, a study from Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that being around “man’s best friend” from an early age may have a health benefit as well — lessening the chance of developing schizophrenia as an […]

Whether children will enjoy academic success can be now predicted at birth, a new study suggests. The study, led by the University of York, found that parents’ socioeconomic status and children’s inherited DNA differences are powerful predictors of educational achievement. However, the research suggests that having the genes for school success is not as beneficial […]

A mother’s obesity in pregnancy can affect her child’s development years down the road, according to researchers who found lagging motor skills in preschoolers and lower IQ in middle childhood for boys whose mothers were severely overweight while pregnant. A team of epidemiologists, nutritionists and environmental health researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public […]