September 17, 2019
by Patricia Tomasi
“We believe that these results highlight the importance of maternal mental health care among preterm infants´ mothers,” study author, Juliana Figueiredo told us. “Preterm birth is a global public health issue and we are usually aware of the challenges that this condition brings to the babies, as rates of morbidities and mortality among preterm babies are high. However, there is a growing literature of the impacts of preterm birth for parents and our findings reinforce the need of maternal mental health care among mothers of preterm infants.”
[More]
July 31, 2019
by Elizabeth Pratt
Although sharing updates of a child's life on social media has become the norm in many social circles, researchers say this may be due to a mothers' vulnerability, and could put children at risk.
[More]
July 16, 2019
by Patricia Tomasi
The U.S. has the worst rate of maternal deaths in the developed world and Mom Congress hopes to change that. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2019, American women are more than twice as likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than they were in 1987. Though the U.S. still does not track maternal suicides, the U.K. reports suicide to be the number one cause of maternal mortality. “This is unacceptable,” 2020 Mom founder, Joy Burkhard, told us, “and change must happen.”
[More]
June 16, 2019
by Elizabeth Pratt
Researchers have found the kind of time fathers spend with their children influences the strength of their relationship in the early years.
[More]
Recently there was an item in the news about a young boy who was with his drug-addicted mother and her boyfriend on a bus. They were in Camden, New Jersey. When they reached their stop the boy tried, unsuccessfully, to arouse the two adults. The man was unable to stand. The mother was unresponsive and appeared to snort something off of her wrist. One of the astonished passengers filmed the event and informed the child welfare authorities that this child was at risk.
[More]
May 21, 2019
by Patricia Tomasi
A new U.S. online survey conducted between April 4th and 8th, 2019, by the Harris Poll on behalf of MediaSource has found that 40 per cent of over 1200 women surveyed felt overwhelmed, depressed, or anxious following labor and that more than 25 per cent did not have a health care plan in place to cope with the "fourth trimester".
[More]
April 30, 2019
by Patricia Tomasi
A new study published in the JAMA Psychiatry examined whether maternal use of cannabis during pregnancy is associated with psychosis liability in offspring. “We expected that cannabis use would be associated with increased psychosis proneness in offspring,” study author Ryan Bogdan told us. “However, we also expected that some of this relationship might be accounted for by other potentially related factors (e.g., other substance use during pregnancy, maternal education, family history of psychopathology, maternal prenatal vitamin use, child substance use, etc.).”
[More]
April 18, 2019
by Elizabeth Pratt
Researchers at Columbia University have found children who experience adversity early in life were more likely to experience gastrointestinal problems. These symptoms may implications for emotional health later in life.
[More]
March 12, 2019
by Patricia Tomasi
If happy parents make happy kids, as the science tells us it does, then how do we ensure parents are happy? “Economic anxiety is a big piece of the puzzle,” parenting expert and author, Ann Douglas told us. “Given the high cost of housing, childcare, post-secondary education, and all the other assorted expenses that go along with raising a child, she says it’s hardly surprising that parents are spending a lot of time worrying about how they’re going to pay the bills.”
[More]
February 26, 2019
by Patricia Tomasi
“Despite recent attention to postpartum depression and anxiety, women continue to be silenced by the taboo against expressing negative feelings and thoughts about being a mother,” Karen Kleiman told us. Kleiman is a postpartum expert and author of the new book, Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts: A Healing Guide to the Secret Fears of New Moms. “We have discovered, however, that when women find a safe place/person to disclose their unwanted and often intrusive thoughts, this decreases their anxiety, thus, helping them feel better.”
[More]