Ready for some good news about kids today? An annual federal report on children's well-being in the US has a lot of it, from birth outcomes to school performance to deaths.

One consideration in undergoing in vitro fertilization ( IVF ) treatment to have a baby is how many embryos to transfer into a woman's womb at once. One? Two? Three?

Most women want a shapely, muscular body to enhance their looks. A new study reports that those firm, hard-won muscles also improve placental health in pregnant women.

Shedding pounds before getting pregnant can reduce a number of health risks - but it may also add a few points to your child's reading and math scores. A recent study has found a link between a mother's weight before pregnancy and their children's cognitive skills: obese women's children score lower on math and reading tests when they were 5 to 7 years old. Get to a healthy weight before becoming pregnant. Lead author Rika Tanda , a nursing doctoral candidate at Ohio State University, and colleagues wanted to investigate potential connections between a mother's pre-pregnancy ob...

Adding folic acid to tortillas and other products can reduce the risk for birth defects, says a new petition recently filed with a federal agency.  A petition filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) argues that fortifying corn masa flour products with the B vitamin folic acid can help reduce serious birth defects of the brain and spine. The groups behind the petition believe that mandating folic acid fortification of the products will especially help prevent birth defects in one high-risk group: Hispanic babies. Since 1998, when the FDA started regulating folic a...

Every pregnant mom wants to receive quality care from doctors and nurses. According to a new study, delivering your baby at a hospital that’s recognized for nursing excellence can impact your baby’s health. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing studied more than 72,000 very low-birth-weight ( VLBW ) infants (less than 3.3 pounds at birth).   They found that that babies born at hospitals recognized for nursing excellence ( RNE ) were less likely to suffer certain complications, compared to babies at hospitals that haven’t been recognized for nursing...

Nursing moms who avoid milk in hopes of reducing their babies’ risk for food allergies should think twice: A new study finds that it may increase your baby’s risk for food allergies.

Pregnant moms know that nutrition during pregnancy can impact a baby’s growth. But did you know that what you take into your body before you’re pregnant may be able to help your baby fight off disease?

Not all women’s bodies act the same before early labor. One small study reports that race as well as the presence of specific bacteria are two factors that play a role in preterm delivery.

Many pregnant mothers are concerned about fetal tests to detect serious conditions in the baby. They fear that such tests could endanger the baby’s health.