2021 Parenting Guidance and Tips

The holiday season isn’t always the most joyful time of year for consumers because it can come with a lot of additional stress. Researchers from Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan recently explored how parents’ stress may impact their children.

According to their findings, about 20% of parents reported that their stress during the holiday season makes it hard for their children to fully enjoy this time of year. 

“People are surrounded by images depicting the holidays as a time of peace, love, and joy,” said researcher Sarah Clark. “Many parents want to give their children those perfect magical memories to treasure for years to come. 

“But all of the behind the scenes work to make that vision come true could have the opposite effect for some families. Excessive parental stress can add tension and diminish the joy children associate with the season.” 

Managing holiday stress

For the study, the researchers surveyed parents around the country to better understand what the holidays are like for them and how they think their experiences and attitudes impact their children. 

The survey showed that one in six parents reported high levels of stress during the holidays, with mothers reporting higher stress levels than fathers. The top three reasons for holiday stress included having to do extra tasks, concerns over family members’ health, and finances. 

Ultimately, about 20% of the parents reported that their children were negatively affected by this holiday stress. The results showed that most of this negativity comes from both children’s and parents’ high expectations for the holidays. 

Beating holiday stress

The researchers also asked parents how they manage stress levels during the holidays. More than 70% of respondents said alone time helps them lower their stress levels. Listening to music, exercise, and religious services were also helpful for some people. 

The researchers recommend that families talk about what's most important to them during the holiday season and what aspects of the holidays bring up too much stress. 

“One strategy is to talk as a family about holiday plans and priorities,” said Clark. “Parents may have misconceptions about what their child’s favorite holiday memories and traditions are – they could actually be much simpler than you think.” 

The researchers hope these findings lead to meaningful conversations among family members about stress and mental health during the holidays. 

“The holiday season may be a time for parents to model good mental health hygiene, by verbalizing how they recognize and try to relieve stress,” said Clark. “This approach is an invitation for children to share their own feelings of stress and a reminder to take action when their stress is elevated.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Curtin University explored how preeclampsia may act as a risk factor for preterm birth. Their findings show that preeclampsia increases the risk for preterm birth, and one early delivery is likely to increase the risk of future preterm deliveries if preeclampsia persists. 

“Until recently, a first birth at full term was considered a reduced risk for a preterm delivery in the next pregnancy,” said researcher Jennifer Dunne. “However, there is emerging evidence that a complicated first pregnancy, regardless of whether the baby was delivered early or at full-term, increases the subsequent risk of a baby being born prematurely.” 

Preeclampsia increases risk of preterm birth

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 125,000 women who had multiple births in Australia between 1998 and 2015. They paid close attention to four major pregnancy complications that could increase the risk of preterm birth: preeclampsia, stillbirth, low birth weight, and placental abruption. 

The study showed that preeclampsia played the biggest role in increasing the risk for preterm birth. For women who delivered preterm as a result of preeclampsia, there was a higher risk for delivering early a second time if preeclampsia returned. 

“When both pregnancies were complicated by preeclampsia, the risk of a subsequent preterm birth increased 10-fold after an initial term birth and 17-fold when the first birth was preterm, compared to women who had an uncomplicated first pregnancy,” Dunne said. “This study also found that there was a three-fold higher risk of women experiencing a subsequent case of pre-eclampsia after a preterm birth in the first pregnancy that was not complicated by preeclampsia.” 

Preeclampsia not the only pregnancy risk

While preeclampsia was linked with the strongest risk of preterm birth, the researchers also learned that any of the four major pregnancy complications may contribute to early deliveries. 

“Having any of the four complications in their first pregnancy puts women at an increased risk of a preterm birth in their next pregnancy, regardless of whether that first birth ended at full term or preterm,” said Dunne. “Likewise, women whose first pregnancy ended in preterm delivery were at an increased risk for each pregnancy complication in the second pregnancy.” 

Moving forward, the researchers hope more work is done in this area to better understand women’s health risks during pregnancy and delivery. 

“The findings of this study will help clinicians to better identify women who are at an increased risk of either a preterm birth or complications in their subsequent pregnancies,” Dunne said. “Further research is now needed to reveal the specific pathways that explain these strong links between pregnancy complications and preterm births, whether they be genetic, pathological, and behavioral or recurrent issues.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Ruhr-University Bochum explored some of the most effective ways for parents to get toddlers to better handle having to wait. According to their findings, toddlers’ temperaments are an important consideration when it comes to picking the right distraction.  

“In the present study, toddlers chose a distraction strategy (active vs. calm) matching their temperamental activity level,” the researchers wrote. “This finding suggests that it could be helpful to give toddlers a choice of toys with different activity levels to help them regulate themselves when they are expected to handle a mildly distressing situation on their own.” 

Teaching toddlers emotional regulation

For the study, the researchers had nearly 100 two-year-old toddlers and their parents participate in a series of experiments that tested the children’s ability to wait.

In the first trial, the toddlers were told to wait three minutes for a small piece of candy. They were given two different toys to help them pass the time before they received their prize. One of the options was a lawnmower toy, which was considered more active; the other was a set of cups, which the researchers said was more calming. 

Ultimately, the team saw a direct correlation between the children’s temperament and how they chose to use their waiting time. 

“We observed that children who were described by their parents as rather calm tended to occupy themselves by playing calmly, such as stacking the cups, and the toddlers who were characterized by their parents as rather active tended to play in an active manner, such as running around with the lawn mower and thus managed to regulate their negative feelings well,” said researcher Joanna Schoppmann. 

How parents can be role models

In the second trial, the researchers were interested in understanding how parents can support their toddlers when it comes time to wait for things. Again, the children were waiting for three minutes for a small piece of candy. But this time, one group had the researchers demonstrate different ways that they could entertain themselves while they waited. A second group played for the entirety of the three minutes with no mention of waiting. 

While this trial showed no relationship between the toddlers’ temperaments and how they distracted themselves, the researchers learned that parents can serve as models for easing their toddlers into waiting. When the children in the experiment saw other adults playing or distracting themselves, they were more likely to do the same -- in any capacity -- during the three minutes. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope this work can help parents better manage their toddlers so they can learn how to control themselves when having to wait for something. 

A new study conducted by City University London explored the possible risks of kids frequently playing violent video games. According to their findings, these games may not be linked to an increase in violence among kids. 

“Popular media often links violent video games to real-life violence, although there is limited evidence to support this link,” said researcher Dr. Agne Suziedelyte. “I find no evidence that child-reported violence against other people increases after a new violent video game is released. Thus, policies that place restrictions on video game sales to minors are unlikely to reduce violence.” 

Understanding the impact of video games

The researchers had boys between the ages of eight and 18 involved in the study. They tracked the release of some of the most popular violent video games and interviewed parents to understand how the boys acted. The team was primarily concerned with two types of violence among the participants: the destruction of things and aggression against other people. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that children weren’t likely to be violent or aggressive towards others following the release of violent video games. However, kids may be more likely to be destructive with the things in and around their homes after playing these types of games. 

While many parents may be hesitant to allow their kids to play these types of games, the researchers believe these findings explain how exposure to violence in this way can affect kids in their day-to-day lives. 

“Taken together, these results suggest that violent video games may agitate children, but this agitation does not translate into violence against other people -- which is the type of violence which we care about most,” said Dr. Suziedelyte. “A likely explanation for my results is that video game playing usually takes place at home, where opportunities to engage in violence are lower. This ‘incapacitation’ effect is especially important for violence-prone boys who may be especially attracted to violent video games.” 

Several studies have highlighted the risks for consumers associated with exposure to smoke and pollution from wildfires. Now, a new study published in eLife suggests that these pollutants could be especially harmful to pregnant women and their unborn children.

According to their findings, when women are exposed to wildfire smoke during pregnancy, it may increase the risk of low birth weight for their infants. 

“Babies with low birth weight are at higher risk of a range of diseases in later life compared to normal weight newborns,” said researcher Jiajianghui Li. “Several studies have shown the effects of landscape smoke on acute lung and heart conditions, but the health impacts of these pollutants on susceptible pregnant women are not well known. We wanted to explore the association between birth weight and exposure to fire source pollution across several countries and over a long time period.” 

Newborn health risk

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 110,000 siblings from more than 50 low- or middle-income countries. They also looked at information collected by the Global Fire Emission Database to determine how the participants were directly impacted by forest fires and evaluated survey responses from women involved in the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

Ultimately, the researchers identified a direct relationship between exposure to wildfire smoke pollutants and low infant birth weight. 

“The effect was even more pronounced when we looked at whether exposure to fire smoke was linked to low or very low birth weight; for every microgram per cubic meter increase in particulate matter, the risks of low and very low birth weight increased by around three and 12 percent, respectively,” said researcher Tianjia Guan. 

The team took the findings a step further by looking at individual families to see if any factors impacted the infants’ low birth weight. They learned that those with a family history of low birth weight were at the greatest risk and were more likely to have newborns with very low birth weight when exposed to wildfire smoke. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope more work can be done to protect consumers from these harmful pollutants. 

“Our global, sibling-matched study has identified a link between exposure in pregnancy to landscape fire pollution and reduced birth weight in low- and middle-income countries,” said researcher Tao Xue. “Newborns from families where lower birth weights were more common were the most susceptible. It is essential to develop steps that reduce the frequency of landscape fires, for example through climate change mitigations, to protect maternal and infant health in these vulnerable populations.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Kansas explored the stressors that parents who are nurses may experience in their day-to-day schedules. Their findings showed a significant link between stress and sleep issues for parents who are also nurses. 

“We were really interested in looking at how the sleep-stressor relationship is different for nurses who are parents and nurses who are not parents,” said researcher Taylor Harris. “We also wanted to look at how many children parents have further influences the relationship between sleep and stress in those working parents, because caregiving at work and at home can be particularly difficult -- sometimes we don’t always look at that intersection specifically in the most prominent health care profession, which is nursing.” 

How does parenting impact stress and sleep?

For the study, the researchers had 60 nurses complete surveys for two weeks; some of the nurses involved in the study were parents, and others were not. The questions were about the participants’ sleeping patterns and stress levels, with each participant being prompted to complete the surveys four times throughout the day. 

The study showed that nurses with children at home weren’t getting as much sleep as those without children; parents also experienced more stress than non-parents. The surveys also indicated that having more children led to more stress and worse sleeping habits.

“The most striking findings were when looking at nightly sleep quality and stressor frequency and then nightly sleep quality and stressor severity,” Harris said. “We see how the participants who were parents had this stronger linkage between poor sleep and frequency and severity of stress, showing how for this population of nurses -- all either day shift or night shift workers -- being a parent really exacerbates that link.” 

These findings are concerning because struggling with sleep and having to manage a lot of stress at work and at home can negatively impact nurses. The researchers worry about nurses with children finding balance so they can do their best both at home and at work. 

“Sometimes we don’t think about the sleep-stressor link, and that can be really important in terms of intervention purposes for nurses who are parents, so that they can in turn be both better workers and better parents,” said Harris. 

“Caregiving both at home and work is really difficult and being able to provide whatever type of intervention that would help nurses sleep better would then help lower those stressor frequencies and severity of stressors and, in turn, promote better cognitive performance at work and just better quality of life overall.” 

While several studies have highlighted the health benefits of breastfeeding for newborns, a new study conducted by researchers from UCLA explored the benefits for mothers. Their findings revealed that breastfeeding may reduce the risk of cognitive decline for women in later life. 

“While many studies have found that breastfeeding improves a child’s long-term health and well-being, our study is one of the very few that has looked at the long-term health effects for women who had breastfed their babies,” said researcher Molly Fox, Ph.D. “Our findings, which show superior cognitive performance among women over 50 who had breastfed, suggest that breastfeeding may be ‘neuroprotective’ later in life.” 

Cognitive benefits of breastfeeding

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from 115 women over the age of 50 who were involved in one of two long-term studies run at UCLA. The women answered questions about their pregnancy and reproductive histories and completed cognitive assessments that measured four important factors: executive functioning, learning, delayed recall, and processing. 

The study showed that breastfeeding was associated with better cognitive outcomes for the women involved in the study. However, how long the women breastfed also played a role in their cognitive outcomes. 

The researchers learned that women who breastfed for more than a year outperformed women who either didn’t breastfeed at all or stopped breastfeeding after less than a year in all four cognitive categories. Similarly, women who breastfed anywhere from one to 12 months performed better on three out of four categories compared with women who never breastfed. 

“Future studies will be needed to explore the relationship between women’s history of breastfeeding and cognitive performance in larger, more geographically diverse groups of women,” said Dr. Fox. “It is important to better understand the health implications of breastfeeding for women, given that women today breastfeed less frequently and for shorter time periods than was practiced historically.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Bar-Ilan University explored how exposure to extreme temperatures may impact women during pregnancy. Their findings showed that experiencing severe hot or cold temperatures during pregnancy may increase infants’ risk of having a low birth weight. 

“Our study demonstrated the significant associations between exposure to high and low outdoor temperature and birthweight in all term births born in Israel during five years,” said researcher Dr. Keren Agay-Shay. “Lower birth weight may indicate abnormalities in intrauterine growth and is a risk factor for morbidity during early childhood and over the entire course of life.” 

Understanding pregnancy health risks

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 624,000 births in Israel between 2010 and 2014. They also evaluated the residential areas where the women gave birth and tracked the temperatures throughout the women’s pregnancies. 

The researchers learned that exposure to extreme temperatures during pregnancy -- whether hot or cold -- increased the risk of infants being born with a low weight. Extreme cold temperatures were linked with a lower birth weight of 56g, while extreme hot temperatures were associated with a lower birth weight of 65g. 

The study found that these risks were the highest in the later months of pregnancy. Exposure to extreme weather in the second -- and even more so in the third -- trimester was associated with the biggest drop in birth weight. 

“The patterns of associations were consistent when stratified by urbanicity and geocoding hierarchy, when estimated for daily minimum and maximum temperatures, when exposures were classified based on temperature distributions in 49 natural regions, and when estimated for all live births (including preterm births and those with birth defects),” said Dr. Agay-Shay. 

Because global temperatures are predicted to continue going up, the researchers hope these findings lead to changes in public health strategies that address climate change. 

While many parents opt to put their infants in a carrying sling for long walks or to run errands, a new study may have consumers rethinking their purchasing options. 

According to researchers from the American Academy of Pediatrics, baby-wearing products may increase the risk of serious injuries for infants under the age of one. 

“The most precious thing a parent will ever wear is their child,” said researcher Dr. Samantha Rowe. “But like when buying a new pair of shoes, parents must be educated on the proper sizing, selection, and wear of baby carriers to prevent injury to themselves and their child.” 

Keeping infants safe

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System from 2011 through 2020. In that time, there were more than 14,000 infant injuries related to baby carriers. 

The majority of the injuries were incurred by infants younger than six months old, and nearly 84% of these accidents resulted in head injuries; approximately 20% of infants were taken to the hospital following the injury. 

The researchers learned that 30% of the injuries occurred when a parent was wearing a sling-type baby carrier. Around 20% of these types of injuries occurred when a caregiver fell while wearing a baby carrier.

Ultimately, the biggest risk of wearing a baby carrier is for very young infants. The study showed that infants aged 0-5 months were involved in the most accidents, though all babies under the age of 1 had a higher risk of experiencing these types of injuries. 

Baby carriers make it easier for caregivers to multitask and form attachment bonds with their infants. However, safety is the most important thing for both newborns and caregivers. To avoid significant injury and hospitalization, the researchers recommend that parents and caregivers take the time to do their research on these products -- especially when it comes to selecting the right product size. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the American Academy of Pediatrics explored the health risks associated with infants’ exposure to marijuana through their mothers’ breast milk. According to their findings, premature infants showed no short-term health risks when their mothers breastfed and tested positive for THC. 

“Providing breast milk from THC-positive women to preterm infants remains controversial since long-term effects of this exposure are unknown,” said researcher Dr. Natalie L. Davis. 

“For this reason, we continue to strongly recommend that women avoid marijuana use while pregnant and while nursing their babies. Our study, however, did provide some reassuring news in terms of short-term health effects. It definitely indicates that more research is needed in this area to help provide women and doctors with further guidance.” 

What are the risks?

For the study, the researchers analyzed medical records of more than 760 preterm infants born between 2014 and 2020. The team tested all of the mothers for THC and monitored the infants’ health outcomes. They compared results from infants given THC-positive breast milk with those who were given either formula or breast milk from THC-negative mothers. 

Ultimately, the researchers learned that all of the infants involved in the study experienced similar health outcomes, regardless of their mothers’ THC status. The researchers tracked the infants from the time they were born until they were allowed to be taken home, and all of the key health markers -- feeding habits, breathing difficulties, and lung development -- were comparable.

While nearly 20% of the mothers tested positive for THC at the time of delivery, there were no significant short-term health challenges identified. The researchers hope more work is done in this area to better understand the potential long-term effects of marijuana exposure in women’s breast milk. 

“Teasing out the effects of THC can be very difficult to study,” said Dr. Davis. “We found that women who screened positive for THC were frequently late to obtain prenatal care, which can have a detrimental effect on their baby separate from marijuana use. This is important to note for future public health interventions.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Children’s National Hospital explored what it’s like for kids to deal with food allergies. Their findings suggest that many kids who have food allergies face threats to their mental health because they tend to get teased or bullied.

“Food allergy-related bullying can have a negative impact on a child’s quality of life,” said researcher Linda Herbert, Ph.D. “By using a more comprehensive assessment, we found that children with food allergies were bullied more than originally reported and parents may be in the dark about it. 

“The results of this study demonstrate a need for greater food allergy education and awareness of food allergy-related bullying among communities and schools where food allergy-related bullying is most likely to occur.”

Bullies taunt and intimidate children with food allergies

The researchers came to their conclusions after analyzing questionnaire responses from over 120 parents and 120 children between the ages of 9 and 15 with a significant food allergy. The kids answered questions about their social-emotional experiences with food allergies, and their caregivers did the same. 

Ultimately, nearly 20% of the children reported that they had been bullied because of a food allergy. However, only 12% of parents knew this was an issue. 

Of the children who were bullied, verbal teasing was the most common way that the kids were affected. In these cases, bullies weren’t physical; instead, they tended to mock kids for their allergies and tried to intimidate them. In 55% of bullying cases, children were taunted with food items that they were allergic to. Bullies would throw the food at them, wave it in their faces, or bring it in or near their food. 

The researchers hope these findings highlight the ways that kids are impacted by their food allergies when they’re at school. Being aware of the issue is important for caregivers so they can try to provide the right support.

“It’s important to find ways for children to open up about food allergy-related bullying,” Dr. Herbert said. “Asking additional specific questions about peer experiences during clinic appointments will hopefully get children and caregivers the help and support they need.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of California San Francisco explored the risks pregnant women face when they’re exposed to air pollution. Their findings showed that exposure to both indoor and outdoor air pollution during pregnancy can have significant impacts on newborns, including low birth weight and premature birth. 

“The air pollution-attributable burden is enormous, yet with sufficient effort, it could be largely mitigated,” said researcher Rakesh Ghosh, Ph.D. 

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from previous studies that tracked both indoor and outdoor air pollution. They compared the results with 2019 data on pregnancies and related complications to determine how air pollution can negatively impact newborns. 

On a global scale, the study showed that all forms of air pollution were linked to nearly 3 million underweight newborns and 6 million premature newborns in 2019. In the U.S., air pollution was responsible for nearly 12,000 premature births.  

Two regions were associated with the highest levels of air pollution -- sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The researchers found that if pollution levels are stabilized in these two hotspots, it would significantly benefit pregnancy outcomes. 

All types of air pollution are problematic

While outdoor air pollution has been well-documented, the researchers explained that everything from stoves and fireplaces to cleaning products can contribute to higher indoor pollution levels. They note that all sources of air pollution can increase the risk for pregnancy complications. 

The researchers hope these findings highlight the importance of fighting against climate change and rising air pollution levels. 

“With this new, global and more rigorously generated evidence, air pollution should now be considered a major driver of infant morbidity and mortality, not just of chronic adult disease,” said Dr. Ghosh. “Our study suggests that taking measures to mitigate climate change and reduce air pollution levels will have significant health co-benefit for newborns.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from University College London explored the potential long-term effects associated with traumatic childhood experiences. 

According to their findings, experiencing neglect and abuse during childhood may be associated with an increased risk of premature death. 

“Our work shows the long-lasting consequences that specific types of child abuse and neglect can have,” said researcher Dr. Nina Rogers. “The findings are especially important because these early-life adversities are not uncommon, affecting millions of people in the U.K.” 

Risks of childhood trauma

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 9,300 people enrolled in the 1958 National Child Development Study. During the participants’ childhoods, their parents and teachers completed questionnaires about their home lives. Then, when the participants were in their mid-40s, they answered questions about childhood abuse. The researchers tracked the participants’ health outcomes over the next 13 years and monitored their mortality in that time. 

Ultimately, the researchers identified a link between trauma during childhood and an increased risk of early death. 

Overall, 11% of the participants experience psychological abuse by the age of 16 and 1.6% experienced sexual abuse; the risk of premature death was 1.4 times higher when children were neglected and 1.7 times higher when children were sexually abused. 

However, the researchers also found that other life circumstances were also associated with an early death. In this study, children from lower-income families were 1.9 times more likely to experience premature death. 

The researchers accounted for several factors in adult life that could contribute to an increased risk of early death, including obesity, mental health, and substance abuse. They learned that there was a link between childhood neglect and smoking as an adult, but no other associations were made. 

“This study is the first to disentangle the independent association between different kinds of childhood maltreatment and mortality in adulthood,” said researcher Dr. Snehal Pinto Pereira. “Importantly, very few studies have considered the long-term implications of experiencing neglect in childhood. I therefore think our finding that children who are neglected have a 43% higher risk of dying early in adulthood, highlights a critical component of child maltreatment where knowledge of long-term outcomes is particularly sparse.” 

While recent studies have found that too much screen time can impact kids’ performance in school, it may not be a detriment to their overall behavior or socializing skills. 

In a new study, researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder found that a lot of time in front of screens doesn’t have a negative impact on kids’ mental health and may actually be a benefit to their friendships. They also learned that academic performance, behavior, and sleep are only slightly impacted by electronics. 

“A number of papers in recent years have suggested that screen time might be harmful for children, but there have also been some reviews that suggest those negative effects have been overestimated,” said researcher John Hewitt. “Using this extensive dataset, we found that yes, there are relationships between screen time and negative outcomes, but they are not large and not dire.” 

What are the effects of screen time?

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 12,000 children enrolled in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study. The kids completed mental health assessments and answered questions about their screen time, and their parents provided information on their grades and overall behavior. 

The study showed that there were links between screen time and behavioral issues, but the researchers explained that there is more to the data than meets the eye.

Sleep and behavior were both negatively affected by too much screen time; however, many kids may try to distract themselves with their phones when they’re awake in the middle of the night, and parents may try to use screens as a way to help kids calm down. This means that screen time may not be the culprit when it comes to poor sleep or behavioral issues, but they are connected.

The researchers explained that although screen time can impact many parts of kids’ lives, the effects of spending a lot of time with devices aren’t necessarily detrimental long term. It’s also important to note that things like behavior and sleep can be impacted by other life stressors — not just screen time. 

“These findings suggest that we should be mindful of screens, but that screen time is likely not inherently harmful to our youth,” said researcher Katie Paulich.

Additionally, the study showed that some online activities actually help kids form closer bonds. Things like playing games together or connecting on social media can foster closer relationships among friends. 

Though many parents struggle with screen time limits, the researchers encourage consumers to think about kids holistically rather than sticking to specific guidelines. 

“The picture is unclear and depends on what devices, which activities, what is being displaced, and, I strongly suspect, the characteristics of the child,” Hewitt said. “I would advise parents not to be overly concerned about their kids spending a few hours a day on their devices.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the American Society of Hematology explored the risks associated with pregnant women missing out on important rounds of vitamin testing. 

Their work showed that a large percentage of pregnant women aren’t being tested for an iron deficiency, even though one in two pregnant women are iron deficient. 

“Despite the very high prevalence of iron deficiency in pregnancy, and how easy it is to treat, we are not doing a very good job of checking for it,” said researcher Dr. Jennifer Teichman. “It’s not top of mind, in part, because of inconsistent recommendations for ferritin testing across clinical guidelines.” 

The push for more iron testing

The researchers analyzed data from more than 44,000 pregnant women between 2013 and 2018. The women were seeking prenatal care at community laboratories in Canada, and they reported on how often ferritin testing, the blood test that is given to pregnant women to determine iron deficiency, was offered during pregnancy. 

The study showed that 60% of the women received ferritin testing during pregnancy, and more than 70% of those tests occurred at the initial pregnancy check-up. However, the researchers explained that taking only one test isn’t enough. Women can develop an iron deficiency at any point during pregnancy, and regular testing throughout the trimesters gives health care providers the best chance to start treatment. 

As women progress through their pregnancies, their need for higher iron levels continues to increase. A lack of iron may increase the risk of postpartum depression, low birth weight, and premature birth. This is why regular testing for iron levels over the course of pregnancy can help protect women and their babies. 

“Iron deficiency is very common, and there can be poor outcomes for both mom and baby if it isn’t identified and treated,” said Dr. Teichman. “The good news is that it’s easily found with a simple blood test and completely correctable with iron supplements.” 

The researchers hope guidelines change in the future to ensure that all pregnant women receive regular tests for iron deficiency throughout their entire pregnancies. Currently, the United States Preventive Services Task Force doesn’t recommend women receive ferritin testing during pregnancy; however, these findings make it clear that all women should be tested often throughout pregnancy to ensure the best health outcomes for themselves and their newborns. 

“Prenatal vitamins contain only a sprinkling of iron and many combine iron with calcium, which can inhibit the absorption of iron,” said Dr. Teichman. “The way to address the problem is by identifying iron deficiency early on and then supplementing women with therapeutic doses of iron, which has 10 times the amount found in most prenatal vitamins.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles explored the effects that sleep deprivation can have on new mothers. 

According to their findings, women are likely to age faster as a result of consistently losing sleep after giving birth. The researchers found that women's bodies can age up to seven years after just six months of an infants’ inconsistent sleep schedule. 

“The early months of postpartum sleep deprivation could have a lasting effect on physical health,” said researcher Judith Carroll. “We know from a large body of research that sleeping less than seven hours a night is detrimental to health and increases the risk of age-related diseases.” 

Speeding up aging

The researchers had 33 women who had recently given birth participate in the study. They analyzed the women’s blood samples and studied their DNA during their pregnancies and through their first year as mothers to understand how their sleeping patterns impacted their biological age. 

The researchers learned that getting seven hours of sleep was the benchmark for poorer health outcomes; women who consistently got fewer than seven hours of sleep aged faster than the women who were sleeping seven or more hours each night. By the six-month check-in, consistently getting fewer than seven hours of sleep per night was linked with speeding up the aging process by as much as seven years. 

“We found that with every hour of additional sleep, the mother’s biological age was younger,” said Carroll. “I, and many other sleep scientists, consider sleep health to be just as vital to overall health as diet and exercise.” 

Risk of disease also increases

The researchers also learned that these consistent sleep disruptions were associated with a higher risk of disease. Based on an analysis of the participants' white blood cells, getting less sleep after giving birth can make women more vulnerable to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and several other serious conditions. 

While the researchers are still unsure whether or not these risks pose a long-term threat to women's health and wellness, they hope these findings emphasize the importance of getting enough sleep after giving birth. 

The study results “and other findings on maternal postpartum mental health provide impetus for better supporting mothers of young infants so that they can get sufficient sleep -- possible through parental leave so that both parents can bear some of the burden of the care, and through programs for families and fathers,” said researcher Christine Dunkel Schetter. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Otago explored the benefits associated with getting infants crawling and moving. 

The team explained that crawling is an integral part of infants’ development, and the more that they’re able to crawl, the better they are at being able to identify and avoid potential hazards. 

“Caregivers should be aware of the important role crawling plays in infant development and the benefits of promoting crawling opportunities for their infants,” said researcher Dr. Carolina Burnay.

“By touching the floor and looking closely to it, infants learn to distinguish safe from unsafe surfaces to locomote and start avoiding falls… Over-protecting babies by limiting their opportunities to self-locomote does not keep them safe, instead, it delays their development of the perception of risky situations.”

Keeping infants moving

The researchers conducted two studies to determine how infants’ crawling skills impacted their ability to identify and avoid risks. Both studies were focused on how well the infants were able to avoid water, which is one area -- especially in the summer -- where parents are worried about their babies’ safety. In both cases, the researchers learned that infants with more experience crawling were less likely to fall when next to water.

“The main difference between the babies that fell and those who avoided falling in the water was the amount of crawling experience they had,” Dr.  Burnay said. “A very interesting result was that the amount of prior crawling experience they had informed their perception of the risk and behavior even when they were already walking -- hence it seems very helpful for babies to crawl and explore their environment.” 

While safety around water is certainly important for infants, these findings are also applicable to general safety. The more time that infants spend crawling, the better they’ll be at identifying potential hazards or risks to their safety. It’s important that parents and caregivers allow their babies the freedom to move around, as this developmental leap will likely help protect them. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Curtin University explored just how long women should wait to conceive again after pregnancy. 

Though many experts recommend that women wait between 18 months and two years to get pregnant again, their findings showed that the risk of complications was nearly identical when women were pregnant again within six months versus two years. 

“We compared approximately 3 million births from 1.2 million women with at least three children and discovered the risk of adverse birth outcomes after an interpregnancy interval of less than six months was no greater than for those born after an 18-23 month interval,” said researcher Dr. Gizachew Tessama. “Given that current recommendations on birth spacing is for a waiting time of at least 18 months to two years after live births, our findings are reassuring for families who conceive sooner than this.” 

Having safe and healthy pregnancies

For the study, the researchers tracked pregnancies and birth outcomes from women from the U.S., Australia, Finland, and Norway. More than 5.5 million women were involved in the study, and they collectively birthed more than 3.8 million babies. The researchers kept a record of the time in between their pregnancies and the safety of their pregnancies and deliveries. 

Ultimately, the team observed no significant differences between women who waited the recommended 18-24 months versus those who got pregnant much sooner. In terms of infants’ birth weight and preterm delivery, women who got pregnant again within six months had similar outcomes to women who waited more than a year. 

However, when women waited fewer than six months between pregnancies, there was an increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth. However, there was a higher risk for complications at birth when women waited longer than five years between pregnancies. 

Moving forward, the researchers plan to see if women’s ages play a role in the interval between pregnancies and any related complications. In the meantime, they hope these findings offer some comfort for consumers that have had successive pregnancies over shorter periods of time. 

Child car seats are designed to keep young children safe when traveling in a vehicle, but 17 state attorneys general say those seats are not safe enough. They’ve filed a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to modify current standards.

In a letter sent to the NHTSA and the Department of Transportation, the coalition of state officials asked the former agency to immediately begin developing standards for side-impact. The letter said these standards should have been developed 20 years ago.

The attorneys general also urged the NHTSA to require labels on all car seats that say children should continue to use them until they exceed the height or weight limits.

“I’ve buckled my kids into their car seats more times than I can count, and each time I did so trusting that they were in the safest place they could be,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong. “NHTSA has an obligation to every parent nationwide to adopt clear, strong standards that keep our children safe on the roads. Families cannot wait another 20 years for NHTSA to finally act.”

Tong points out that Congress first instructed the NHTSA to adopt side-impact standards for child car seats in 2000. He notes that manufacturers voluntarily conduct their own side-impact tests but without federal standards. As a result, he said parents aren’t sure which seats are the best.

“As families pack their cars for summer road trips, we must ensure that parents have the right information to keep their children safe on the road,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

Leading cause of death

In their letter to federal regulators, the attorneys general said auto accidents are the leading cause of death for children aged one to 13. They say child car seats have significantly reduced deaths and injuries, but there’s still room for improvement.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said side-impact crashes cause almost as many child injuries and deaths as frontal-impact crashes and are more likely than any other type of crashes to cause serious or fatal injuries.

“Almost 5,000 children under 15 have died in car crashes from 2015 to 2019, which equates to about 19 children each week over that time period,” she said.

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin evaluated the effects of physically punishing kids for bad behavior. 

According to the team, getting physical with children isn’t likely to lead to improved behavior. Instead, corporal punishment may negatively impact children’s overall well-being and ultimately lead to poorer behavior long term.  

“There is no evidence that physical punishment is good for children,” said researcher Elizabeth Gershoff. “All the evidence indicates that physical punishment is harmful to children’s development and well-being.” 

Avoiding physical punishment

To understand the effects of physical punishment, the researchers analyzed nearly 70 earlier studies that dove deeper into the topic. The team learned that there were no benefits associated with parents physically punishing their children. Though the practice remains legal in the U.S., children’s behavior didn’t improve when their parents used physical force as a means of discipline. Instead, the analysis showed that bad behavior remained for longer periods of time, and the children were more likely to experience neglect. 

“Parents hit their kids because they think doing so will improve their behavior,” Gershoff said. “Unfortunately for parents who hit, our research found clear and compelling evidence that physical punishment does not improve children’s behavior and instead makes it worse.” 

The researchers found that the longer the physical punishments lasted, the worse the outcomes were for the children’s overall well-being. Moving forward, the researchers hope these findings help change the laws surrounding physical punishment. 

“This is a public health issue,” said researcher Anja Heilmann. “Given the strength of the evidence that physical punishment has the potential to cause harm to children, policymakers have a responsibility to protect children and legislate to end the use of physical punishment in all settings.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Rutgers University explored patterns related to preschoolers' learning and general motivation. It suggests that in order for preschoolers to feel motivated to seek out more information, they need to be introduced to a topic without knowing everything about it.

“There is an infinite amount of information in the real world,” said researcher Jenny Wang. “Yet despite having to learn so much in such a short amount of time, young children seem to learn happily and effectively. We wanted to understand what drives their curiosity.” 

What makes kids interested in learning?

For the study, the researchers had 100 preschoolers participate in various experiments. The team designed books on a variety of topics and analyzed how well the kids understood them and how likely they were to seek out more information on any given topic. 

The study showed that the key for preschoolers to want to learn more is to not be bored or overloaded with information on any subject matter. When they begin to learn about something new that interests them, they’re more likely to be motivated to learn more when not all of the information is revealed right away. 

The researchers also explained that curiosity plays a big role in this. Kids’ interests impact what topics they’re most likely to want to know more about, but staying in that middle ground of knowledge is what sparks them to ultimately seek out more information. 

“Intuitively, curiosity seems to belong to those who know the most, like scientists, and those who know the least, like babies,” said Wang. “But what we found here is quite surprising: it was children in the middle who showed the most interest in learning about contagion, compared to children who knew too little or too much.”

Moving forward, the researchers hope these findings can help parents and educators of preschoolers stay engaged with new material. 

“Ultimately, findings like this will help parents and educators better support children when they actively explore and learn about the world,” Wang said. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center has explored certain factors that can impact parents’ mental health. 

According to the team, parents are more likely to struggle with their mental health when their children are dealing with Complex Medical Conditions (CMCs). These problems can include conditions like congenital heart defects or cerebral palsy. 

“Having a child with this level of needs affects families in so many different ways,” said researcher Dr. Nathaniel Bayer. “With the right support, these families thrive and fulfill their goals. Without enough support, these families often struggle with the emotional and physical demands of constant caregiving, financial stressors, and employment issues. They may also be unable to find assistance from community services and home nurses, which are under-funded and under-reimbursed.” 

Parents’ mental health is taking a hit

To understand trends in parents’ mental health, the researchers analyzed data from the National Survey of Children’s Health. They were primarily interested in understanding the differences between three groups: parents of healthy children, parents of children with CMCs, and parents of children with non-complex health care needs. 

The researchers learned that parents of children with CMCs were five times more likely to struggle with mental health than parents of healthy children. While this finding alone is a cause for concern, the study also showed that more than 35% of parents of children with CMCs also faced difficulties finding mental health services; this was particularly tough for parents from low-income households. 

“Families of lower [socioeconomic status] often do not have the resources to easily access services,” Dr. Bayer said. “They may lack the transportation to travel to the clinic or struggle to find community resources in their area. If your family is also struggling to put food on the table or keep the lights on, it’s harder to manage your child’s medical needs and take care of yourself.” 

The researchers say many parents of children with CMCs rely on support services to help them through difficult times. These groups allow parents to exchange concerns and ideas, which can often help relieve mental health struggles. Of the parents involved in this study, just 15% reported having access to these kinds of resources. To ensure that parents’ mental health remains a priority, the researchers hope these findings lead to long-term changes in the health care field. 

“Mental health is part of health,” said Dr. Bayer. “Parent and caregiver mental health is a major issue that has a significant impact on children’s health. We need to talk more about parent mental health, screen for it more, and proactively support it.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Ohio State University found that the majority of U.S. consumers are in favor of paid parental leave. 

Though paid leave following the birth of a child isn’t guaranteed in the U.S., the study found that there was little difference in opinion between U.S.-based consumers and those from other countries when it comes to the policy. 

“We find marked differences in how Americans want paid leave administered compared to the rest of the world -- but very similar desires to have leave available,” said researcher Chris Knoester.  

How do consumers feel about paid parental leave?

To understand consumers’ general attitudes toward parental leave, the researchers analyzed responses from over 35,000 participants from more than two dozen countries, all of whom were enrolled in the International Social Survey Programme.

General support for paid parental leave was consistent from all of the study participants; more than 85% of participants from countries outside the U.S. supported paid leave, compared to 82% of U.S. participants who also supported it. The biggest differences between U.S. participants and those from other countries were specific support for paternity leave, how long paid leave should last, and governmental support for leave. 

Across the board, support for paternity leave was lower than that of maternity leave; however, those outside the U.S. garnered more support for giving fathers paid time off after the birth of a child. The researchers found that most opposition to paid paternity leave comes from those with more conservative political views or those with higher socioeconomic backgrounds. 

“These are the people who already largely have access to paid leave through their employers,” said researcher Richard Petts. “They would not directly benefit from it, because they already have it. It is a story of the have and the have-nots.” 

Similarly, participants from outside the U.S. were in support of paid leave that lasted more than one year, whereas those in the U.S. were comfortable with four months of leave. It’s also important to note that U.S.-based participants were generally less in support of governmental support for paid parental leave -- especially for paternity leave. 

“This may be a major reason why we don’t have more widespread and generous leave offered in the United States, even though most people support it,” Knoester said. 

The researchers found that those who believed in traditional gender roles were less likely to support paid time off, while women were generally more supportive of paid leave. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health explored how certain minerals during pregnancy may impact children’s health. 

According to their findings, having higher levels of selenium and manganese during pregnancy was associated with better blood pressure outcomes for children. The team found that maintaining healthy levels of these minerals may protect against high blood pressure long term.  

“These results suggest that healthy levels of selenium and manganese in mothers’ diets during pregnancy may protect their children against developing high blood pressure,” said researcher Noel Mueller, Ph.D. “This work highlights the importance of nutrition and environmental exposures in the womb for a child’s cardiovascular health and, as we continue this research further, could eventually lead to updated nutritional guidance and environmental regulations aimed at preventing disease.” 

Setting kids’ up for healthy blood pressure

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from nearly 1,200 mothers and their children enrolled in the Boston Birth Cohort. The team evaluated mothers’ blood samples during pregnancy and paid close attention to levels of certain minerals and toxic metals. The researchers later measured the children’s blood pressure when they were between the ages of three and 15.

The study revealed that higher levels of selenium and manganese during pregnancy were linked with lower childhood blood pressure. Selenium was linked to the lowest blood pressure readings; the study showed that kids’ systolic blood pressure declined by more than six points each time their mothers’ selenium levels doubled. Comparatively, doubling manganese levels during pregnancy was associated with lowering systolic blood pressure by nearly three points. 

Though manganese appeared to have a milder effect on kids’ blood pressure, the researchers found that it was more powerful in protecting against the potentially harmful effects of toxic metals -- specifically cadmium.

The researchers explained that cadmium levels tend to be higher when women smoke or are frequently exposed to smoke. This study found that manganese can be effective at masking the consequences of cadmium; higher levels of manganese were linked to lower childhood blood pressure readings when women smoked or were exposed to the metal during pregnancy. 

For women interested in incorporating more of these minerals into their diets during pregnancy, the team recommends eating traditionally healthy foods like fish, whole grains, leafy vegetables, nuts, and oatmeal. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Michigan State University found that not becoming a parent may not impact consumers’ life satisfaction. 

The team learned that one-quarter of adults in Michigan do not want to have children, and this group experienced similar levels of happiness and satisfaction as those who had children. 

“Most studies haven’t asked the questions necessary to distinguish ‘child-free’ individuals -- those who choose not to have children -- from other types of nonparents,” said researcher Jennifer Watling Neal. “Non-parents can also include the ‘not-yet-parents’ who are planning to have kids, and ‘childless’ people who couldn’t have kids due to infertility or circumstance.” 

How do children impact happiness?

For the study, the researchers wanted to identify the difference between adults that didn’t plan on having children versus those who were considered nonparents. The team then analyzed responses from more than 1,000 adults who participated in the Michigan State University State of the State Survey. The group answered questions about their personalities, general life satisfaction, and political ideology. 

The researchers were surprised to learn that one-quarter of the participants identified as child-free and didn’t have intentions of having children. However, this choice didn’t affect their overall happiness or life satisfaction.

“After controlling for demographic characteristics, we found no difference in life satisfaction and limited differences in personality traits between child-free individuals and parents, not-yet parents, or childless individuals,” said researcher Zachary Neal. 

In terms of personality, the study showed that parents and nonparents weren’t too different; however, the researchers learned that there was a divide between the groups. The study found that parents didn’t have great attitudes about those without kids, whereas nonparents were much kinder to each other. 

Another big difference was in political leanings. The majority of nonparents reported having more liberal preferences than participants with kids. The researchers believe that this particular finding can have important implications in future elections.

A new study conducted by researchers from Michigan Medicine explored the health care costs associated with women giving birth. 

According to their findings, there are several reasons why consumers could be burdened with thousands of dollars in medical bills following the birth of a child -- even when covered by private health insurance. The team found that when infants require extra medical care or women deliver via C-section, it could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000. 

“Many privately insured families believe that if they have health insurance, they’re protected from the costs of childbirth hospitalizations. Unfortunately, this is simply not true for many families, particularly if their baby needs NICU care,” said researcher Dr. Kao-Ping Chua. “Having a healthy baby is expensive enough given the costs of diapers, childcare, and baby equipment. Adding a $10,000 hospital bill on top of this can devastate some families,” Chua added.

The cost of childbirth

The researchers analyzed private insurance claims from across the country and focused their study on nearly 400,000 childbirths. The team looked at how much of the process was covered by insurance and what consumers had to pay out of pocket. 

While health insurance covered a portion of childbirth, the majority of the participants in the study were left with more than $3,000 in medical bills. When women delivered vaginally and their babies were healthy, delivery and hospital costs were nearly $3,100. 

As the cases became more specialized, the out-of-pocket costs increased. Medical bills reached nearly $5,000 -- and in some cases as much as $10,000 -- when infants spent time in the NICU. Similarly, women that delivered via C-section had nearly $4,000 in medical bills. 

The researchers explained that many in-hospital services for infants are necessary for overall health and wellness. Moving forward, the team hopes that insurance companies consider ways to reduce these costs for consumers so that a significant financial burden can be alleviated.

“Maternal and childbirth hospitalizations are essential to families’ health and well-being, with some babies needing longer stays because of complex or unexpected medical conditions,” said researcher Dr. Michelle Moniz. “These services are vital to ensuring the best possible outcomes for moms and newborns. We should be looking at ways to improve childbirth coverage to avoid sending families home from the hospital with thousands of dollars in debt.” 

Recent studies have highlighted the health risks associated with both pregnant women and children’s exposure to air pollution. 

Now, researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder have found that women who are exposed to air pollution during pregnancy may have an increased risk of bearing children who struggle with obesity. The team explained that air pollution was linked with excess weight gain, which can last through childhood and adulthood. 

“Higher rates of obesity among certain groups in our society are not simply a byproduct of personal choices like exercise and calories in, calories out,” said researcher Tanya Alderete. “It’s more complicated than that. This study and others suggest it can also relate to how much of an environmental burden one carries.” 

Identifying health risks

The researchers compared health records for more than 120 mother-infant pairs with air pollution data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality System. The team was primarily concerned with the infants’ weight gain and where they stored their fat. 

“We found that greater exposure to prenatal ambient air pollution was associated with greater changes in weight and adiposity, or body fatness, in the first six months of life,” said researcher William Patterson.

This was true for all of the infants, though the researchers found that male and female babies distributed weight gain differently. While male infants had more belly fat, female infants tended to gain more fat around their waists. 

The researchers explained that exposure to air pollution can heighten the body’s inflammatory response, which ultimately impacts other bodily functions and processes and leads to excessive weight gain. While the team plans to do more research in this area, they said that exposure to air pollution in utero can impact infants’ DNA make-up and affect the health of future generations. 

“This period, either during pregnancy or shortly after birth, is a critical window of development and adverse exposures can program the infant to have a host of problems in later life,” Patterson said. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Reading found that teens are more likely to open up to people who they deem to be attentive listeners. 

The findings suggest that parents should try to learn to communicate better with their teens to make them more comfortable with being open. Being more engaged and making eye contact can help teens do just that. 

“We all know that listening to someone talk about their problems is an effective way of reassuring them and establishing a connection,” said researcher Dr. Netta Weinstein. “However, until now, there has been little thought given to the quality of that listening, and the difference that makes. 

“This study shows that in parent-teenager relationships, quietly listening to a teenager while showing them they are valued and appreciated for their honesty has a powerful effect on their willingness to open up.” 

Paying attention to listening skills 

The researchers had over 1,000 teens between the ages of 13 and 16 participate in the study. The participants were shown a series of videos where a teen was sharing something important with a parent. In half of the videos, parents practiced attentive listening skills; in the other half, they appeared aloof and distracted. 

Across the board, the participants were more drawn to the versions of the videos where the parents were paying attention and engaged in what the child was saying. When the parents in the videos made more eye contact and offered comfort and support to the teenagers who were sharing their feelings, the teens involved in the study felt more comfortable. 

The participants shared that the feelings of validation and empathy that they saw in the videos are two important factors in being willing to open up to their parents -- especially with vulnerable topics.

“With such a large group of participants, it is reassuring to see that active listening was universally beneficial across these years of adolescence,” Dr. Weinstein said. 

“The study has some important implications for teenage well-being as well. The participants said that the good listening model observed in the videos would lead to better well-being. Although we don’t know how often the expectation meets reality, but it’s clear that active listening is more likely to lead to a good outcome for teenagers than the more passive style we tested it against.” 

Several studies have identified the risks associated with women drinking alcohol while pregnant. Now, experts from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology explored how alcohol can impact women before they conceive. 

According to their findings, drinking alcohol can hinder a woman’s likelihood of getting pregnant if it’s done during an ovulation cycle. Because of this, they recommend that women actively trying to conceive should avoid heavy drinking. 

“We found that heavy drinking during any phase of the menstrual cycle was significantly associated with a reduced possibility of conception compared to non-drinkers,” said researcher Dr. Kira Taylor. “This is important because some women who are trying to conceive might believe it is ‘safe’ to drink during certain parts of the menstrual cycle.”  

How alcohol affects conception

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from over 400 women between the ages of 19 and 41 that were enrolled in the Mount Sinai Study of Women Office Workers. Over the course of 19 menstrual cycles, the women provided monthly urine samples and reported daily on their alcohol intake. 

The researchers learned that women who had more than six drinks per week during their menstrual cycles, which was defined as “heavy drinking,” were less likely to conceive than women who weren’t drinkers. However, the study showed that it wasn’t just heavy drinking that impacted the likelihood of conception; moderate drinkers -- who had between three and six drinks per week -- also had a lower chance of getting pregnant. 

“During the luteal phase, which is the last two weeks of the menstrual cycle before bleeding would start and when the process of implantation occurs, not only heavy drinking, but also moderate drinking was significantly associated with a reduced possibility of conception,” Taylor said. “At the time of ovulation, usually around day 14 of the cycle, consuming a lot of alcohol -- either heavy or binge drinking -- was significantly associated with reduced chances of conception.” 

Binge drinking -- which is having four or more drinks in one day -- during any point in the menstrual cycle also reduced the likelihood of pregnancy; however, binge drinking during ovulation was linked with the lowest chances of conception. 

“If we assume that a typical, healthy, non-drinking woman in the general population who is trying to conceive has approximately a 25% chance of conceiving during one menstrual cycle, then out of 100 women approximately 25 non-drinkers would conceive in a particular cycle, about 20 moderate drinkers would conceive, and only about 11 heavy drinkers would conceive,” said Taylor. “But the effect of moderate drinking during the luteal phase is more pronounced and only about 16 moderate drinkers would conceive.

The researchers noted that their study was limited in scope, but that their findings could be immensely important to women who are looking to have children.“Our study only included a few hundred women and, while we believe the results strongly suggest that heavy and even moderate alcohol intake affects the ability to conceive, the exact percentages and numbers should be viewed as rough estimates,” Taylor said. 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Gothenburg found that women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) may be at an increased risk of preterm birth. 

“I would like to point out that the increase in risk for preterm birth is small for the individual woman carrying HPV,” said researcher Johanna Wilk. “But our results support that young people should get into the vaccination program against HPV.” 

Understanding preterm birth risk

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 1 million births recorded in the Swedish Medical Birth Register. They also looked at mothers’ medical histories using the National Quality Registry for Cervical Cancer Prevention and the Swedish Cancer Register. 

The team was interested in both HPV infection and treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), which occurs when there are abnormal changes to cervical cells related to HPV infection. Nearly 12,000 of the participants were infected with HPV, and more than 23,000 women had been treated for CIN. 

The researchers learned that nearly 6% of women with HPV delivered prematurely, compared to 4.6% of women with no history of HPV. Additionally, more than 9% of the women who had received treatment for CIN had preterm births. 

“Our study is register-based and, although we’ve adjusted for various factors in the analyses, we can’t reliably answer the question of whether it’s the virus itself that causes the pregnancy and childbirth complications,” said researcher Verena Sengpiel. “All we can do is show a statistical association. 

The researchers hope that more women are treated and tested when their doctors notice abnormal changes in cervical cells due to HPV infection. Doing so could help increase the chances that women have a healthy pregnancy and successful delivery.

“The earlier these abnormal changes are detected, the better we can follow and treat them,” Wilk said. “And when you’re admitted to maternity care, it’s a good idea to tell your midwife if you’ve had cervical cell changes, and whether you’ve been treated for them. Then the maternity health staff can take that information into account when planning the monitoring of your pregnancy.” 

Several studies have highlighted the mental health struggles many women face during pregnancy and the ways that depression can impact physical health outcomes for women and their infants. 

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from King’s College London explored how depression can affect mothers’ relationships with their newborns. According to the team, women with a history of depression or those who experienced depression during pregnancy struggled to have meaningful connections with their newborns. 

“Our findings suggest that perinatal mental health professionals should offer support not only to women with depression during pregnancy, but also to pregnant women with a history of depression, as they may also be at risk of interaction difficulties,” said researcher Dr. Rebecca Bind. “Future research should try to understand why a history of depression, despite a healthy perinatal period, may impact the developing relationship.” 

How depression impacts mothers and newborns

To better understand the role that depression plays in the mother-infant relationship, the researchers analyzed the outcomes of more than 130 women and their infants over the course of one year. The women fell into one of three groups: history of depression but no current diagnosis, no current diagnosis or history of depression, and current depression diagnosis. 

The researchers checked in with the mothers and their infants eight months and 12 months postpartum. They watched short clips of their interactions and specifically looked at things like tone of voice, facial expressions, and affection to determine the quality of the relationships.  

Ultimately, the study showed that depression, either current or historical, hindered the mother-infant relationship. Women who struggled with depression during pregnancy experienced the brunt of it, as more than 60% of women in this group had poorer relationships with their infants. Comparatively, 56% of women with a history of depression struggled to maintain quality relationships with their infants, and less than 40% of mother-infant relationships were affected when women had no previous or current depression diagnosis. 

Mental health resources are needed

While these findings highlight the importance of having mental health resources more readily available for pregnant women, the study also showed that relationships between mothers and their children improved over time. By one year postpartum, all of the mother-infant pairs experienced positive changes in their interactions. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope these findings are instrumental in changing the way that health care professionals identify and care for pregnant women with depression. Having mental health resources available for all pregnant women is crucial to ensuring positive relationships between mothers and infants. 

“We recommend that health care professionals provide pregnant women at risk of interaction difficulties with examples of positive caregiving behaviors, and with ways to engage their babies and understand their needs, all of which could be incorporated into parenting and birthing classes and health visits,” said researcher Carmine Pariante. 

“We also suggest that interventions that can’t help the mother-infant interaction should be made more widely available, such as video feedback, where a clinician and mother discuss what behaviors work best to engage and comfort the baby, and structured mother-baby activities, such as art and singing groups. This is especially important because we know that the early years are vital for future mental health and well-being.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many consumers’ living situations, including prompting many young adults to return home to live with their parents. 

Now, researchers from North Carolina State University are working to make this transition a more positive situation for consumers. According to findings from their recent survey, adults who move back in with their parents don’t have to feel shame about the decision if they properly frame and plan it out.

“People move back in with their parents for a lot of reasons, and the trend is increasing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic woes,” said researcher Lynsey Romo. “We launched this study before the pandemic happened because we wanted to learn more about how adults who move back in with their parents manage that process. How do they think about it? How do they talk about it?” 

Coping with moving back home

The researchers surveyed 31 adults between the ages of 23 and 31 to understand how young adults handle moving back home with their parents. Participants discussed their decision to move back home and the things that have helped them view the move as something positive rather than a setback. 

The discussions ultimately boiled down to four main points that can help consumers stay positive about this decision: creating a timeline, detailing expectations, being mature, and contributing to household duties. 

Planning for the future is an important part of adults moving back in with their parents. Making it clear how long the arrangement will last and what adults hope to gain by the move are two good ways to maintain positivity and strong relationships in the home. 

In terms of expectations, the participants shared that it’s crucial for adults to hash out the details with their parents. This includes discussing everything from responsibilities around the house to financial obligations, and even curfews. 

Lastly, the participants said acting like an adult, even when around parents, can help give agency to adults living in their childhood homes. Being able to maintain maturity can help identify new roles in the house; though many adults may see moving in with their parents as a step backwards, it’s important to establish new boundaries in a familiar place. 

“On one hand, study participants were certainly aware of the stigma associated with moving back in with one’s parents as an adult,” said Romo. “However, it was equally clear that framing the decision to move back in with one’s parents as an investment in the future helped people think about the decision in a positive way and communicate about it in a positive way.” 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that these findings are beneficial to adult consumers that have moved back in with their parents or are planning a move back. There are ways to positively frame this situation, and having the right mindset can make all the difference. 

“Moving back home is a reality for a lot of people right now,” Romo said. “Hopefully, this work will make them make the most of that circumstance and avoid any stigma associated with it.” 

Spending time outdoors can have significant mental health benefits, and now a new study shows that kids might at least be somewhat aware of those advantages.

Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University conducted an experiment that asked children between the ages of seven and eight to draw a place where they feel happy. The majority of the children drew pictures of nature scenes, which indicates that the younger generation associates nature with well-being. 

“We wanted this study to explore children’s own perceptions of well-being, as most previous research has focused on adults,” said researcher Dr. Nicola Walshe. “This is despite a consensus that children’s perspectives differ significantly from adults.” 

The link between nature and well-being

The researchers had over 90 children from low socioeconomic backgrounds involved in the study. The goal was to have the children draw pictures of places that made them happy or were associated with positive memories and general well-being. 

More than half of the kids involved in the study drew pictures that were nature-related, with trees being one of the most commonly drawn elements in the pictures. The researchers were surprised by these findings because of how closely they aligned with adults’ views of happiness and well-being. 

However, it’s also important to note that even though nature was a consistent theme among the kids’ drawings, it wasn’t always the dominant part of the images. The researchers found that a lake or garden would often appear in the background of the drawing, but the people important in the children’s lives were featured more prominently. 

“We identified indicators of well-being that were made explicit in children’s drawings, such as the need for safety, happiness, and positive relationships,” said Dr. Walshe. “The drawings depicted nature and outdoor spaces as being interconnected with all aspects of well-being. For example, being able to play outside boosts physical well-being, while being able to stay calm and appreciate the beauty of nature can be linked to emotional or mental health.” 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that more of an effort is made to strengthen the connection that kids have with both nature and art. 

“Previous research has shown that wealth affects access to nature, with children living in deprived areas significantly less likely to have access to green spaces and outdoor places to play,” Dr. Walshe said. “Our research suggests that nature and open spaces underpin these children’s consideration of well-being. 

“As such, making nature explicit, and restoring the interconnectedness between the arts and nature should be a key priority for research to help improve children’s well-being.” 

Several studies have looked at the risks associated with premature birth. Now, a new study is looking at the link between preterm birth and developmental delays. 

According to the findings, infants born before 35 weeks are at an increased risk of struggling with developmental difficulties through childhood. This could translate to motor skill issues, sensory impairment, or cognitive dysfunction, among other concerns. 

“In this large, contemporary cohort of preterm-born children, we report development at age 5.5 in a broad range of areas, the need for educational assistance, complex developmental interventions, and parental concerns about their child’s development,” the researchers wrote. 

Understanding the developmental risks

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 3,000 children enrolled in the France-based EPIPAGE-2 study. All of the children were born preterm, and they were divided into three groups based on the length of their mothers’ pregnancies: 24-26 weeks, 27-31 weeks, and 32-34 weeks. The researchers compared their developmental outcomes with 600 children who were born at full term. 

Ultimately, the researchers identified a clear relationship between preterm birth and developmental difficulties -- the further away women were from carrying their pregnancies to full term when they gave birth, the higher the risk of their child having developmental issues. 

Infants born between 24 and 26 weeks were nearly 40% more likely to develop a mild disability and 28% more likely to have a neurodevelopmental disability. Infants born between 32 and 34 weeks were nearly 35% more likely to have a mild disability and 12% more likely to have a neurodevelopmental disability. 

Children with mild disabilities often require extra assistance at school, including speech or physiotherapists, and parents in the study expressed high levels of concern for their children’s long-term development, well-being, and behavior. 

While this was an observational study, the researchers hope these findings highlight the ways that preterm births can have long-term impacts on children and their families. 

“This global perspective is important when advising parents, health personnel, and teachers, and also when designing follow-up and intervention programs for children born preterm,” the researchers wrote. “Extra educational assistance and complex developmental resources were often used, even for children born moderately preterm with no, or mild, neurodevelopmental disabilities. Difficulties faced by these groups of children and their families should not be underestimated.” 

Recent studies have highlighted how many children struggle with getting enough physical activity and sleep. For busy families, incorporating physical activity or making sure kids are sleeping enough can be difficult to plan into already packed schedules. 

However, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of South Australia found that staying flexible and rescheduling activities to fit into each day can lead to better physical and mental health benefits for kids.

“There are many competing time demands in modern families -- whether it’s after-school soccer, music lessons, or simply walking the family dog,” said researcher Dr. Dot Dumuid. “In this research, we calculated how much sleep, sedentary time, light exercise, and moderate-to-vigorous exercise was associated with the same improvements in mental health, physical health, and academic achievement. Exploring trade-offs between children’s activities is a promising way for families to make healthy choices that suit their regular family schedule.” 

Prioritizing balance

For the study, the researchers analyzed the physical and mental wellness of more than 1,100 children between the ages of 11 and 12. The kids completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory and underwent assessments for height, weight, and body mass index (BMI). 

Ultimately, vigorous physical activity was found to be the most effective way for kids to maintain a healthy body and mind. However, there are other ways that parents can maximize their time and ensure their kids are getting the greatest mental and physical health benefits each day. 

“This study confirms that physical activity is the quickest and most effective way to deliver benefits for children’s physical health and mental well-being,” said researcher Trevor Shilton. “But the findings also offer some flexibility for families.” 

The team also found that sleeping for nearly 70 extra minutes can boost mental health, and sleeping for an extra 52 minutes can boost physical health. Similarly, mental health is likely to improve with an additional 35 minutes of exercise, while less than 20 extra minutes of exercise can boost physical health. Kids are likely to see improvements to both mental and physical health when they cut their sedentary time down by roughly 55 minutes. 

“For families with very little available time, small increases in moderate-to-vigorous exercise could be an option to improve children’s health and well-being; alternatively an earlier night could equally deliver the same health benefits -- importantly, it’s the flexibility that these findings offer that make them so valuable.” 

Making the most of the time you have

The researchers explained that their goal with this study was to show parents that there are ways to maximize their time to ensure their kids are getting the most benefits each day. Though there may not be the time to reach sleep or exercise goals every day, there are ways to reallocate activities to make the most of the time that’s available. 

“Helping young people make healthy choices and helping families create an environment that supports them in these choices can improve their quality of life in the future, as well as reducing their risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease,” Shilton said. 

Recent studies have highlighted the benefits associated with breastfeeding newborns. Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center is adding to that body of work.

According to the team, infants that are breastfed tend to have better cognitive outcomes as they develop through childhood. The researchers looked at results from neurocognitive assessments of nine- and ten-year-olds and found that those with the highest scores were also the ones who were breastfed. 

“There’s already established research showing the numerous benefits breastfeeding has for both mother and child,” said researcher Hayley Martin, Ph.D. “This study’s findings are important for families particularly before and soon after birth when breastfeeding decisions are made. It may encourage breastfeeding goals of one year or more. It also highlights the critical importance of continued work to provide equity focused access to breastfeeding support, prenatal education, and practices to eliminate structural barriers to breastfeeding.” 

Benefits of breastfeeding

To understand how breastfeeding impacted children’s long-term brain function, the researchers analyzed results from over 9,000 kids enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. As part of the study, children completed neurocognitive assessments that tested things like memory, executive functioning, and general cognitive ability. The researchers analyzed their results and compared them with data on breastfeeding, which included information on whether the children were breastfed and for how long. 

Ultimately, children who were breastfed as infants had the strongest outcomes on the neurocognitive tests. In fact, the longer the children were breastfed, the better they did on the cognitive evaluations by the time they were nearing the end of elementary school. 

“The strongest association was in children who were breastfed for more than 12 months,” said researcher Daniel Adan Lopez, Ph.D. “The scores of children who were breastfed until they were seven to 12 months were slightly less, and then the one to six-month-old scores dips a little more. But all scores were higher when compared to children who didn’t breastfeed at all.” 

Moving forward, the team hopes that these findings encourage more women to try breastfeeding, as there could be significant long-term brain benefits. 

“Our findings suggest that any amount of breastfeeding has a positive cognitive impact, even after just a few months,” said Dr. Lopez. “That’s what’s exciting about these results. Hopefully from a policy standpoint, this can help improve the motivation to breastfeed.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Stanford Medicine explored the complications associated with women getting epidurals to ease pain during childbirth. 

According to their findings, epidurals are not linked with an increased risk of a child developing autism. The team explained that these shots can help women with pain relief during labor, and they shouldn’t worry about adverse complications with their infants. 

“The epidural is the gold standard in labor pain management,” said researcher Elizabeth Wall-Wieler, Ph.D. “The vast majority of evidence around epidurals, including that from our new study, shows that they are the most effective means of providing pain relief to women during labor and that serious complications are rare.” 

A safe way to relieve pain

To better understand the relationship between women who received epidurals and later autism diagnoses, the researchers analyzed data from over 123,000 children born in Manitoba, Canada. 

Overall, less than 40% of the women involved in the study received an epidural during childbirth. The researchers learned that just over 2% of the children born to women who had received an epidural were diagnosed with autism; comparatively, just under 2% of children born to women who hadn’t received an epidural during childbirth were diagnosed with autism. 

The researchers were interested in this subject because of an earlier California-based study that identified a link between epidurals and autism diagnoses. However, the researchers said that study lacked an analysis of outside factors that can impact brain development and autism. 

In this study, experts evaluated several factors that may impact autism risk. Some of them included mothers’ smoking, alcohol, and recreational drug use; fetal distress during labor; genetic influences; socioeconomic factors; and pre-pregnancy health status, among many others. After accounting for all of these measures, the findings indicated that epidurals don’t pose a significant risk to autism diagnoses. 

The researchers hope that these findings encourage women to make decisions during labor based on their individual needs without worrying about how their choices may later impact their children’s development. 

“Our study has a stronger finding because we accounted for limitations the first study had,” said researcher Dr. Alexander Butwick. “An epidural remains a well-established and effective means of providing pain relief during labor, with several benefits associated with it.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton explored the risks associated with consecutive miscarriages. 

According to their findings, weight is an important factor when it comes to this reproductive issue. The team found that women who are either underweight or overweight have a higher risk of having consecutive miscarriages. 

“Our findings suggest that having an abnormal BMI exacerbates a woman’s risk of suffering from repeated miscarriages, and so clinicians really need to focus on helping women manage this risk factor,” said researcher Ying Cheong. 

How weight can impact pregnancy

The researchers analyzed over a dozen earlier studies that looked at how women’s lifestyles impacted their reproductive health and the risk of having recurrent miscarriages. The team assessed factors like caffeine intake, alcohol consumption, weight, and body mass index (BMI) scores to determine what was most likely to contribute to multiple miscarriages. 

Their findings revealed that women’s weight played a large role in their reproductive health; women that were either underweight, overweight, or obese were at an increased risk of having consecutive miscarriages. 

“Our study included sixteen studies and showed that being underweight or overweight significantly increases the risk of two consecutive pregnancy losses,” said researcher Dr. Bonnie Ng. “For those with BMI greater than 25 and 30, their risk of suffering a further miscarriage increases by 20% and 70%, respectively.” 

Following a healthy lifestyle

Though caffeine and alcohol are associated with pregnancy complications, the researchers didn’t find any link between these habits and consecutive miscarriages in this study. 

“While our study did not find any associations between recurrent pregnancy loss and lifestyle parameters such as smoking, alcohol, and caffeine intake, further large-scale studies are required to clarify this,” said researcher Dr. George Cherian. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that more work is done to ensure that women are following healthy habits throughout the entire pregnancy process. 

The White House is stepping up efforts to address the child care crisis caused by COVID-19. 

On Thursday, the Biden-Harris administration announced that it earmarked $39 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to help early childhood educators and family child care providers keep their doors open and the lights on. The new fund is an especially welcome relief for moms who have had to juggle child care while working remotely. 

“Since the start of the pandemic, roughly 2 million women have left the labor force, disproportionately due to caregiving needs and undoing decades of progress improving women’s labor force participation rate,” the White House said in a statement.

In fact, the administration is taking to heart all aspects of raising a family including the disparities in income levels brought on by differences in education levels and gender.

“Even as many fathers have returned to work, mothers, especially those without a four-year college degree, have not done so at similar rates. As a result, the gender earnings gap is predicted to increase by 5 percentage points in this recession, hurting our families and economy,” White House officials stated.

“As women work to regain employment, families with young children, and especially families of color where mothers are more likely to be sole or primary breadwinners, may face financial burdens for years to come. Parents need access to safe, quality child care to get back to work.”

Provisions of the plan

Here’s how the White House laid out all the plan’s provisions:

Help child care centers and family child care providers stay afloat. Included in this provision will be financial assistance for rent payments, mortgage payments, utility and insurance bills, maintaining or improving facilities, and paying off debt incurred during the pandemic.

Support providers with funds to enable safe and healthy learning environments. As COVID-19 winds down and parents look for child care options, a key ingredient is health safety. The Biden-Harris team says the new fund will have a positive impact on more than 5 million children by purchasing masks, improving ventilation, and providing consistent cleaning so centers and family providers can comply with the CDC’s Guidance for Operating Child Care Programs during COVID-19. 

Support the mental health of children and early educators. Providers can also use these funds to support the mental health of children and early childhood educators so they can help anyone who’s been socially or emotionally impacted by the pandemic. 

Payroll support and new hires. The White House said that it was giving special attention to help keep child care workers -- who are disproportionately women of color and immigrants -- on the payroll and give centers the financial ability to rehire anyone who was laid off. Child care providers can also use these funds to recruit new workers and increase the pay and benefits of child care workers and family child care providers.

Provide access to affordable care for families with the greatest need. The fund covers virtually anyone struggling to make ends meet so they can meet the cost of child care. The White House said the fund allows states, tribes, and territories the ability to provide direct subsidies to hard-pressed families earning below 85% of a state’s median income, as well as families performing essential work.

Lay the groundwork for a revamped childcare system. The White House’s intent for a portion of the fund is to rehab the current child care system so families can access the high-quality care they need going forward. One of the suggestions the administration offered was allowing states, tribes, and territories an option to set reimbursement rates at a level where children can not only receive high-quality care but will have increased access to care in the evenings and on weekends when many essential workers need help. 

To ensure healthy pregnancies and healthy babies, studies have cautioned pregnant women to avoid several potential risks, like smoking, drinking alcohol, and consuming caffeine. Now, Hadi Mohammadi, an engineer from the University of British Columbia, is urging pregnant women to be extra cautious when driving over speed bumps. 

He explained that when drivers are reckless about speeding over these obstacles, it can be harmful to both pregnant women and their babies. 

“There is lots of research about the importance of movement for women during pregnancy,” said Mohammadi. “Our latest research looked specifically at the impacts of sudden acceleration on a pregnant woman.” 

Staying safe behind the wheel

The researchers created a model of a third-trimester pregnant uterus for the purposes of the study. They then created an equation to determine how the fetus interacts with the uterus when impacted by the vibrations that occur when going over a speed bump. The team was primarily interested in seeing how the size of the speed bump and the speed that the car affected pregnant women and their babies. 

The study showed that speed bumps can put extra pressure on pregnant women’s amniotic fluid, which is responsible for protecting an unborn baby. The researchers say this can increase the risk of a number of complications, including abdominal pain for mothers and abnormalities to heart rate or brain development for babies. 

To ensure safety for both pregnant women and their babies, the researchers determined that cars should go no faster than 45 km/h, or just about 28 mph, over speed bumps. However, the optimal speed to protect the health and safety of pregnant women is about 15.5 mph. 

The researchers explained that this is true of speed bumps and any bumpy roadways; slowing down in these areas is the best bet. Moving forward, the team hopes that consumers take these findings into consideration when driving with pregnant women. 

“Obviously, there are other variables at play when a driver approaches a speed bump, but we hope our findings provide some evidence-based guidance to keep drivers and their occupants literally and figuratively safe,” Mohammadi said. 

Every parent takes a different approach when it comes to disciplining their children. Now, a new study conducted by researchers from Harvard University found that those who use corporal punishment may impact their child’s brain development.

According to their findings, spanking affected kids’ brain development much in the same way as more intense types of violence. The researchers worry about how this practice could affect long-term decision-making abilities, emotional processing, and general mental health. 

“We know that children whose families use corporal punishment are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, behavior problems, and other mental health problems, but many people don’t think about spanking as a form of violence,” said researcher Katie A. McLaughlin. “In this study, we wanted to examine whether there was an impact of spanking at a neurobiological level, in terms of how the brain is developing.” 

How spanking can affect development

The researchers had nearly 150 kids between the ages of 10 and 11 participate in the study. While laying in an MRI machine, the children were shown pictures of faces that were either showing fearful or neutral expressions. The researchers analyzed what effect the different faces had on the children’s brain responses. 

The study revealed that seeing images of fearful faces activated more areas of the brain in children who were spanked versus those who weren’t. Additionally, more areas in the prefrontal cortex were activated in these children. This is important because the prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision-making, social awareness, and personality expression. 

When comparing these results to those of children who had experienced more severe types of abuse, the researchers found that they were similar. 

“While we might not conceptualize corporal punishment to be a form of violence, in terms of how a child’s brain responds, it’s not all that different than abuse,” said McLaughlin. “It’s more a difference of degree than type.” 

What are the long-term risks?

The researchers explained that every child responds to discipline differently. While some kids who were spanked grow up to overcome this type of punishment, it’s important for parents to know what the potential risks are. 

The researchers hope that parents take these findings and veer away from this type of discipline because it’s clear that spanking children can have neurological consequences. 

“The important message is that corporal punishment is a risk that can increase potential problems for children’s development, and following a precautionary principle, parents and policymakers should work toward trying to reduce its prevalence,” said McLaughlin. “We’re hopeful that this finding may encourage families not to use this strategy, and that it may open people’s eyes to the potential negative consequences of corporal punishment in ways they haven’t thought of before.” 

While many parents are concerned about letting their toddlers spend too much time in front of screens, a new study conducted by researchers from the Association for Psychological Science explored what role TV plays in toddlers’ development. 

Their findings showed that watching TV isn’t likely to be the culprit for toddlers’ attention issues. However, these results are different from several other studies that have looked at toddlers and screen time. 

“The findings from the original study, upon further scrutiny, are not borne out,” said researcher Wallace E. Dixon, Jr. “We found that there is still no evidence that TV, by itself, causes ADHD or any kind of attention problems in young children. Our research also tells us that it’s important to be skeptical of earth-shattering findings that come in the form of ‘something that everybody is doing harms our children.’ Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” 

TV alone isn’t to blame for attention issues

The researchers analyzed data from more than 2,000 participants who were enrolled in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth to determine what effect watching TV had on toddlers’ attention spans. They applied a research technique that explores this association from hundreds of different angles and compared them to results from an earlier study. 

Ultimately, they learned that watching TV didn’t have a direct impact on toddlers’ attention issues. Though many parents are worried about how much time their young kids are spending in front of screens, and several studies have drawn links between screen time and attention, the findings from this study showed that exposure to TV alone during the toddler years isn’t likely to lead to attention issues during childhood and beyond. 

The researchers hope that parents and caregivers find solace in these findings and aren’t so hard on themselves for what activities they permit their kids to participate in moving forward. 

“What excites us about this research is that we can ease up on blaming parents or making them feel guilty for letting their children watch television when they are very young,” Dixon said. 

The use of age-appropriate car seats among parents who take ride-share services with young children is alarmingly low, a new study finds. 

A national survey published in the journal Academic Pediatrics found that only half of U.S. parents reported that children 8 years or younger used the recommended child car seats or booster seats when in ride-share vehicles with them. 

Forty percent of parents who take ride-share vehicles with children aged 8 and younger use a seat belt for their child, and 10 percent allow their child to travel on their lap or unrestrained. The study authors said the results of the survey are “concerning” because of the popularity of ride-share services like Uber and Lyft. 

“Car accidents remain the leading cause of death for children under 10 years old and traveling without the recommended child restraint system increases the risk for serious injury or death in a crash,” said senior study author Dr. Michelle Macy, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

“Importantly, our findings suggest that even parents who usually use child car seats face barriers to doing so in ride-share vehicles. Or, parents may view traveling in ride-share services as different, in terms of risk and legal requirements, than traveling in their family vehicle,” Macy said in a statement. 

Most states require use of car seats

Generally, parents reported lower rates of child car seat use when in ride-share vehicles compared to how they normally ride with their child. The researchers noted that most states do require children younger than 8 to travel in a child car seat or booster seat when in ride-share vehicles. 

"A lack of awareness of laws and policies requiring car seats and booster seats in ride-share vehicles may be a reason for our findings. Solutions include enforcement of policies, reminders from ride-share apps, signs posted in ride-share vehicles, education from pediatricians and public health campaigns," Macy said.

"These interventions could be targeted toward families of school-age children, since this age group had more suboptimal restraint use in ride-share," she noted.

Giving up coffee during pregnancy can be difficult for many women. Now, researchers from the National Institute of Health (NIH) are exploring the risks associated with women can’t kick that caffeine habit during pregnancy. 

According to their findings, even moderate caffeine consumption during pregnancy can affect newborns -- particularly when it comes to birth weight and height. The researchers learned that having as little as half a cup of coffee every day during pregnancy can impact infants’ size at birth. 

Cutting back on caffeine

For the study, the researchers analyzed health outcomes from more than 2,000 women who enrolled in the study during their first trimesters. The women reported on their caffeine intake, including quantity and the type of caffeinated beverages, and gave blood samples for the researchers to analyze for caffeine levels. When the women eventually gave birth, the researchers compared women’s caffeine intake with their infants’ birth weight. 

Ultimately, women’s caffeine consumption during pregnancy had a direct impact on their children’s size at birth. The study showed that even low levels of caffeine during pregnancy led to smaller babies in nearly every category: weight, height, thigh circumference, and head circumference. 

Compared to women who reported drinking the lowest quantities of caffeine, those who drank around half a cup of coffee each day had infants that were more than two ounces smaller at birth. Similarly,  those with the highest levels of caffeine in their blood had infants that were nearly three ounces lighter and nearly 0.2 inches shorter at birth. 

Consult with your doctor

The researchers believe that caffeine directly affects newborns’ stress levels and the blood supply they receive through the placenta, which is most likely why higher levels of caffeine limited their growth. Moving forward, they recommend that women consult with their doctors about the appropriate levels of caffeine to have during pregnancy. 

“Until we learn more, our results suggest it might be prudent to limit or forego caffeine-containing beverages during pregnancy,” said researcher Dr. Katherine L. Grantz. “It’s also a good idea for women to consult their physicians about caffeine consumption during pregnancy.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from the NYU School of Medicine explored the negative health risks associated with pregnant women’s exposure to flame retardants. 

According to their findings, exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) during pregnancy may increase the risk of premature birth. PBDEs are often used in products around the home to prevent the likelihood of a fire; however, the researchers worry about how the chemicals will affect kids’ health long term. 

“Our findings illustrate that flame retardants may have a tremendous impact on childbirth even if exposure occurred early on in the pregnancy,” said researcher Morgan Peltier, Ph.D. “Although PBDE chemicals are used with good intentions, they may pose a serious health concern that may have lasting consequences for children.” 

Protecting kids’ long-term health

To understand the effects of PBDE exposure on pregnancy, the researchers analyzed blood samples from over 3,500 pregnant women. The women were divided into groups based on the levels of PBDEs that were in their blood, and the researchers also assessed other risk factors -- like age and smoking status -- that could contribute to premature delivery. 

The study showed a clear link between women with the highest levels of PBDEs and those that had premature births. Compared to women with the lowest chemical exposure, those with the highest traces of PBDEs in their blood were 75 percent more likely to have a premature delivery. 

The researchers determined that the threshold of exposure to PBDEs was 4 nanograms per milliliter of blood; when pregnant women’s exposure exceeded that figure, premature birth was more likely. Surpassing that benchmark of chemical exposure also complicated women’s otherwise healthy pregnancies and increased the likelihood of procedures like C-sections and induced labor.

Long term, the researchers worry about how this exposure to PBDEs during pregnancy will affect kids’ health. While premature birth comes with risks, chemical exposure in utero may add to those risks beyond the infant years. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Children’s Hospital Colorado has explored the risks associated with marijuana and breastfeeding. According to the researchers, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound in marijuana that creates the feeling of being high, can last in women’s breast milk for up to six weeks. 

“With the increasing utilization of marijuana in society as a whole, we are seeing more mothers who use marijuana during pregnancy,” said researcher Dr. Erica Wymore. “However, given the lack of scientific data regarding how long THC persists in breast milk, it was challenging to provide mothers with a definitive answer regarding the safety of using marijuana while breastfeeding and simply ‘pumping and dumping’ until THC was no longer detectable in their milk.”

“With this study, we aimed to better understand this question by determining the amount and duration of THC excretion in breast milk among women with known prenatal marijuana use,” she added.  

Abstaining from marijuana

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from women who had a history of marijuana use before pregnancy and had delivered their babies between November 2016 and June 2019 at two Colorado hospitals. Four hundred women were eligible for the study, but only 25 enrolled and just seven successfully abstained from marijuana during the first six weeks post-delivery. 

Though these women weren’t using marijuana after giving birth, they all had reported using it during pregnancy or had tested positive for the drug at the time of delivery. Ultimately, the researchers learned that all seven women had traces of THC in their breast milk six weeks after giving birth. Though the levels of THC differed in each of the women, it remained detectable nearly two months later. 

Though the study didn’t look at the effects that THC can have on infants when passed through breast milk, the researchers say several earlier studies have identified the risks associated with women smoking marijuana during pregnancy. To reduce any potential negative health effects, they urge women to abstain from marijuana both during pregnancy and during breastfeeding. 

“This study was not about the impact marijuana has on babies, but we are concerned,” said Dr. Wymore. “Especially when we consider that today’s marijuana is five to six times higher in potency than what was available prior to recent marijuana legalization in many states.” 

Several studies have found that strong parent-child relationships can help kids navigate everything from stressful situations to peer relationships.

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the Taylor and Francis Group has found a strong connection between parents’ empathy and their kids’ behaviors. According to their findings, kids who feel that their parents are empathetic are less likely to deal with teen delinquency than those with less empathetic caregivers. They’re also more likely to become empathetic themselves. 

“The principle implication of this study is that parental support, as perceived by the child, apparently plays a small but significant role in the development of empathy in early adolescent youth,” the researchers wrote. “Empathy, in turn, may serve to reduce the child’s propensity for future delinquent involvement.” 

How empathy affects delinquency

The researchers analyzed nearly 4,000 survey responses from kids enrolled in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The children were surveyed each year from ages 12 through 17 and answered questions that assessed their own levels of empathy and how empathetic and supportive they believed their parents were. In the final year of the survey, the teens reported on how often they had engaged in acts of delinquency, including things like stealing or destroying property. 

The study showed that kids who felt that their parents were empathetic towards them were less likely to engage in delinquent acts. When kids felt that their homes were solid and supportive, they behaved better as adolescents and teens. The team found that the opposite was also true; kids that didn’t feel that same level of empathy were more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors. 

Having children perceive their parents as empathetic was also beneficial for other reasons. The study showed that kids were more likely to develop the trait themselves -- which also contributed to fewer delinquency behaviors -- when they felt that their parents modeled the trait for them. 

“What this current study adds to the literature on the parental support-delinquency relationship is a mechanism capable of further clarifying this relationship,” said researcher Glenn Walters. “The mechanism, according to the results of the present study, is empathy.”

While the researchers believe that there could be other factors at play here that ultimately affect kids’ behaviors, these findings highlight just how important it is for kids to feel supported and understood by their parents. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine found that mothers’ diets could go a long way towards benefiting their premature infants’ immune systems. 

Though there are risks with premature births, the researchers found that adopting a diet high in vegetables can benefit premature infants’ immune function. Their work showed that a healthy diet was effective in reducing infants’ risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) -- a common gastrointestinal condition among preemies that attacks the intestinal lining and can be fatal. 

“These findings enable us to imagine the possibility of developing a maternal diet that can not only boost an infant’s overall growth, but also enhance the immune system of a developing fetus, and in turn, reduce the risk of NEC if the baby is born prematurely,” said researcher Dr. David Hackam. 

The importance of fruits and vegetables during pregnancy

The researchers conducted several different studies on mice to better understand how pregnant women’s diets can affect their premature infants’ immune systems. The major part of their work was based on the interaction between a compound commonly found in vegetables and a protein linked with NEC. Previous studies have found that the compound -- indole-3 carbinol (I3C) -- can effectively stop the production of the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) protein, which is responsible for NEC in premature infants. 

The researchers designed the study to see if IC3 could “be fed to pregnant mice, get passed to their unborn children, and then protect them against NEC after birth.” In the study, one group of pregnant mice was fed high-vegetable diets while another group consumed no IC3 during pregnancy. After the mice gave birth, the researchers analyzed the newborns’ health outcomes. 

The researchers’ hypothesis about the way IC3 and TLR4 interact was correct: greater vegetable consumption reduced the production of the TLR4 protein. The mice born to mothers who had consumed more leafy green vegetables during pregnancy were 50 percent less likely to develop NEC within their first week of birth. 

In another trial, the researchers put breastfeeding to the test. They learned that eating healthier while breastfeeding produced similar immune function outcomes. Infant mice were protected from NEC when their mothers consumed healthier foods. 

While the researchers plan to do more work in this area, they hope that these findings show just how important mothers’ diets can be for their newborns’ overall growth, development, and immune system function. 

As more and more studies focus on kids’ mental health struggles, it’s becoming clearer how stressful situations -- like divorced parents or losing a pet -- can have a long-term impact. However, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of South Australia is exploring how kids’ mental health can suffer even when they’re relatively happy and healthy. 

According to the researchers, kids’ mental health outcomes aren’t affected solely by their life experiences; kids who grew up in more stressful circumstances are just as likely to struggle with mental health problems as those whose upbringing was more peaceful. 

“This research shows that mental health conditions are not solely determined by early life events and that a child who is raised in a happy home, could still grow up to have a mental health disorder,” said researcher Bianca Kahl. 

“There’s certainly some missing factors in understanding how our childhood environment and early life experiences might translate into mental health outcomes in adulthood,” she continued. “We suspect that it’s our ability to adapt to scenarios when our expectations are not being met, that may be influencing our experiences of distress.” 

The importance of strong coping skills

To better understand kids’ mental health struggles, the researchers had over 340 participants complete surveys that covered a lot of ground about their personal histories. This included demographic information, childhood experiences, social and familial relationships, and symptoms and experiences related to mental health disorders. 

The researchers learned that all of the participants were susceptible to mental health concerns, regardless of what their childhoods looked like; however, they did find that some symptom-related trends emerged in kids with more chaotic upbringings versus kids from more stable homes. 

For example, kids with less stressful childhoods were more prone to anxiety and psychosomatic symptoms, which is when mental concerns show up in the body as various ailments or pains. On the other hand, kids with harsher childhoods were more likely to experience depression and paranoia. 

While it’s impossible to anticipate everything life will throw at us, the researchers believe that kids who know how to handle uncertainty and can develop healthy coping skills when faced with adversity are likely to have the strongest mental health outcomes -- no matter what kind of environment they grew up in. 

“As the prevalence of mental health conditions expands, it’s imperative that we also extend our knowledge of this very complex and varied condition,” Kahl said. “If, as children, we learn how to adapt to change, and we learn how to cope when things don’t go our way, we may be in a better position to respond to stress and other risk factors for poor mental health.” 

What women do during pregnancy can affect their babies’ growth and development -- and that includes consuming caffeine.

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center has found that women’s caffeine intake during pregnancy can impact their babies’ brain development. Their findings suggest that serious effects aren’t likely, but the team says steering clear of caffeine during pregnancy can yield the best health outcomes. 

“These are sort of small effects and it’s not causing horrendous psychiatric conditions, but it is causing minimal but noticeable behavioral issues that should make us consider long-term effects of caffeine intake during pregnancy,” said researcher John Foxe, PhD. “I suppose the outcome of this study will be a recommendation that any caffeine during pregnancy is probably not such a good idea.” 

How does caffeine affect brain development?

The researchers came to their conclusions after analyzing MRI brain scans for over 9,100 children between the ages of nine and 10. Over 4,100 mothers had reported consuming caffeine during pregnancy, and the researchers wanted to see how this caffeine exposure affected development.

Ultimately, the researchers observed some noticeable differences between kids who had been exposed to caffeine in the womb versus those who hadn’t. Kids exposed to caffeine in utero were more likely to struggle with paying attention and had more issues acting out, which the researchers linked with changes to white matter in their brains. White matter serves two important functions: it connects different parts of the brain, and it is also responsible for developing the ability to learn new things. When it becomes compromised due to early caffeine exposure, the researchers say these attention and behavioral issues are more likely.

The researchers also hypothesize that infants are unable to process caffeine in the same way that adults do while in utero. This, in turn, can affect healthy brain development and trigger hyperactivity. 

“What makes this unique is that we have a biological pathway that looks different when you consume caffeine through pregnancy,” said researcher Dr. Zachary Christensen. “Previous studies have shown that children perform differently on IQ tests, or they have different psychopathology, but that could also be related to demographics, so it’s hard to parse that out until you have something like a biomarker. This gives us a place to start future research to try to learn exactly when the change is occurring in the brain. 

Always consult with a doctor

When it comes to drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages during pregnancy, the researchers recommend that women always consult their doctors. However, they also encourage women to think in terms of moderation so they can get the best health results for themselves and their children. 

“Current clinical guidelines already suggest limiting caffeine intake during pregnancy -- no more than two normal cups of coffee a day,” Dr. Christensen said. “In the long term, we hope to develop better guidance for mothers, but in the meantime, they should ask their doctor as concerns arise.” 

Many parents worry about how screen time will affect their children’s development, and a new study is exploring how time spent on devices can impact toddlers’ attention spans. 

According to researchers from the University of Bath, toddlers who spend a lot of time in front of screens may be more easily distracted than those who have less daily screen time. 

“The use of smartphones and tablets by babies and toddlers has accelerated rapidly in recent years,” said researcher Tim Smith. “The first few years of life are critical for children to learn how to control their attention and ignore distraction, early skills that are known to be important for later academic achievement. There has been growing concern that toddler touchscreen use may negatively impact their developing attention but previously there was no empirical evidence to support this.” 

How does screen time affect attention span? 

To better understand how toddlers’ screen time could affect their developing attention spans, the researchers tracked 56 toddlers over nearly three years and evaluated their attention spans. The researchers measured the toddlers’ ability to ignore distracting images and how quickly they looked at moving images on a computer screen. When at home, the kids were free to use screens however their parents allowed. 

The researchers learned that the toddlers who had the highest amounts of screen time also struggled the most to focus. They had the most difficulties blocking out the distracting images that popped up during the tests, and they were more quickly drawn to any new images that appeared on the screen. The toddlers with the least amount of time spent with touchscreens were better able to maintain focus and ignore the distracting images that were shown. 

Despite this relationship between toddler screen time and attention spans, the researchers can’t say that one necessarily causes the other. They said there are a lot of factors that could influence infants’ behavior and focus skills during tests like this. 

“We are currently unable to conclude that the touchscreen use caused the differences in attention as it could also be that children who are more distractible may be more attracted to the attention-grabbing features of touchscreen devices than those who are not,” said researcher Dr. Ana Maria Portugal. 

In future studies, the researchers hope that they’ll be able to get to the bottom of this trend. While young kids can certainly develop stronger focus skills, more work in this area could better equip parents to instill healthy screen time habits with their kids. 

“What we need to know next is how this pattern of increased looking to distracting objects on screens relates to attention span in the real-world: is it a positive sign that the children have adapted to the multitasking demands of their complex everyday environment or does it relate to difficulties during tasks that require concentration?” 

Several recent studies have explored the struggles that many women face with postpartum depression. However, relatively little research focuses on how men cope with new fatherhood. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Lund University found that depression is rather common for new fathers, and those emotions are often linked to feeling insecure in one’s romantic relationship. 

“Low self-confidence in close relationships seems to trigger parental stress, which in turn triggers the symptoms of depression,” said researcher Elia Psouni. 

Identifying depression-related triggers

For the study, the researchers surveyed over 500 fathers who had infants between the ages of one and 18 months old. They answered questions about their self-confidence, how they feel in their romantic relationships, and their overall mental health. 

The study revealed that 20 percent of the fathers involved in the study were experiencing severe depressive symptoms after the birth of their children. The researchers also learned that men who had partners experiencing postpartum depression were more likely to be struggling with their own mental health. 

“The study shows beyond doubt that parents affect one another and reveals the importance of monitoring how parents in various relationships and family constellations manage and fare over a long period,” Psouni said. 

While proximity to depression played a role in the new fathers’ mental health struggles, the researchers also found another common denominator among the men: low self-confidence. The researchers learned that many of the new fathers experiencing depression were also likely to lack confidence in their abilities to be a good parent and their roles in their romantic relationships. 

“Having a negative view of oneself, one’s own characteristics and abilities, while valuing other people highly often leads to a constant worry about not being good enough, about disappointing others and -- potentially -- losing them,” said Psouni. 

Divorce can be a major source of physical and mental stress for consumers, and a new study has explored how kids of divorced parents are affected by this change in the family dynamic. 

According to researchers from Arizona State University, kids are more likely to struggle with mental health concerns when their divorced or separated parents are frequently arguing. 

“Conflict is a salient stressor for kids, and the link between exposure to interparental conflict and mental health problems in children is well established across all family types -- married, cohabitating, separated, and divorced,” said researcher Karey O’Hara. 

“Conflict between divorced or separated parents predicted children experiencing fear that they would be abandoned by one or both parents. This feeling was associated with future mental health problems, especially for those who had strong relationships with their fathers.”

Kids fear being abandoned

The researchers had families enrolled in the New Beginnings Program -- an initiative that helps families transition following a divorce or separation -- participate in the study. Nearly 560 kids between the ages of nine and 18 were surveyed about their experiences with parental conflict, stress levels, and overall well-being. 

The more that separated or divorced parents fought, the more stressed and anxious the kids felt. The researchers learned that kids who experienced the highest levels of parental conflict feared being abandoned by their parents. This also had long-term consequences, as the study revealed that kids who worried about abandonment were also more likely to struggle with mental health nearly a year down the road. 

“When parents who are married or cohabitating engage in conflict, the child might worry about their parents separating,” said O’Hara. “But children whose parents are divorced or separated have already seen the dissolution of their family. The idea that they might be abandoned might be unlikely, but it is not illogical from their perspective.” 

Parental relationships don’t play a role

The researchers also learned that this correlation between parental conflict and kids’ mental health struggles was consistent regardless of the kind of relationship parents had with their kids. Several recent studies have indicated that parents serve an important role in managing stress for their kids; however, exposure to this kind of persistent arguing was enough to be detrimental to kids’ mental wellness despite any closeness with parents. 

“Having a high-quality parental relationship is protective, but it is possible that quality parenting alone is not enough in the context of high levels of interparental conflict between divorced parents,” O’Hara said. 

Researchers from the University of Warwick believe they have found the best way to predict when pregnancy sickness will start -- and they say it is closely tied to ovulation cycles. The team explained that most doctors use the date of women’s last menstrual cycle to determine the start of the pregnancy; however, this isn't always the most accurate measure because cycles can change from month to month. 

According to their findings, pregnancy sickness starts much earlier in pregnancy when looking at the date of ovulation rather than the date of the last menstrual cycle.

“In the past, women suffering with nausea and vomiting in pregnancy have had their symptoms trivialized and overlooked because it was thought there was a psychological basis for the symptoms,” said researcher Roger Gadsby. “This research further enforces that nothing could be further from the truth, that this is a biological problem related to the development of the early fetus.”   

Knowing when to expect pregnancy sickness

To come to their conclusions, the researchers had 256 pregnant women report on the dates of their last menstrual cycles and ovulation; the participants also kept diaries throughout their pregnancies to record their symptoms. 

The researchers found that nearly 95 percent of the women experienced sickness during their pregnancy, but the dates of their ovulation and menstrual cycles revealed very different experiences. When using the date of the participants’ last menstrual cycles as the start of the pregnancy, nausea and vomiting began nearly a month into pregnancy. However, using the ovulation date as the start of pregnancy pushed those symptoms up to just over a week into pregnancy. 

“The precise course of pregnancy sickness is unknown, but this research shows that it occurs at a specific developmental stage, in a specific time slot,” said Gadsby. “For researchers, it narrows our focus in terms of where we look for the cause. If we know that symptoms occur in a very narrow 8-10 days after ovulation, researchers can concentrate their efforts on that particular stage of development to find the cause of the condition, both anatomically and biochemically.” 

These findings are significant because the date of ovulation provides a much smaller window of when pregnancy sickness symptoms should appear. As Gadsby said, the women reported experiencing nausea and vomiting eight to 10 days post-ovulation; however, when looking at the date of the menstrual cycles, the window of symptoms appearing widened to 20 to 30 days. 

The researchers hope these findings can be beneficial from a research standpoint and help women better understand their bodies and know what to expect during pregnancy. 

A new study conducted by researchers from Case Western Reserve University explored how young people with behavioral and mental health concerns can benefit from a different approach. 

While kids with severe behavioral issues are often placed in state detention programs, the researchers looked at how things changed when kids were instead enrolled in the Ohio Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice Initiative (BHJJ). As an alternative to traditional detention programs, this community-based program gives young people the chance to contribute something positive to their local areas while working through behavioral, mental health, and substance abuse issues. 

“The majority of justice-involved youth have a history of mental health and/or substance-use issues, and have experienced a great deal of trauma,” said researcher Jeff Kretschmar. “However, local jurisdictions are often ill-equipped to accurately assess youth for behavioral health problems and provide appropriate treatment. Ohio’s Behavioral Health Juvenile Justice Initiative was intended to transform and expand the local systems’ options to better serve these youths.” 

Promoting better behavioral and health outcomes

For the study, the researchers analyzed behavioral and health outcomes for kids between the ages of 10 and 17 who were enrolled in the BHJJ. Since 2006, over 5,300 kids have participated in the BHJJ -- and the experts have noticed significant improvements in kids who complete the program in recent years. 

Between 2017 and 2019, more than 80 percent of the kids enrolled in BHJJ completed the program, and those that did also excelled in several other areas. The researchers found that school suspensions and expulsions decreased by 50 percent, and misdemeanor charges dropped by more than 50 percent. Additionally, nearly 80 percent of the kids who completed the program were less likely to have dealings with the police. 

The kids also saw improvements to their mental health and overall functioning after completing the program. The researchers found that there were fewer trauma-related symptoms reported, and the kids were less likely to be using substances like drugs or alcohol. 

The BHJJ, and other community-based diversion programs, are important for several reasons, but not least of which is that they evaluate kids comprehensively. At the start of the program, health care professionals perform intake assessments to ensure that the treatment program is best suited to the child’s needs. 

Moving forward, the researchers hope that more programs like BHJJ become the norm for kids who are struggling with behavioral and mental health issues. The benefits are extensive and could make significant long-term changes in young people’s lives. 

“The breadth of the data provides us with an opportunity to examine outcomes for youth in BHJJ from a variety of angles and provide practitioners with enough information to match programming with behavioral health needs,” said researcher Frederick Butcher.