Often called the "love hormone" or "trust hormone," oxytocin is a chemical that helps parents and children bond to one another and works on children's emotional development.

The risks related to drinking during pregnancy are not limited to fetal alcohol syndrome. A baby's exposure to alcohol before birth can also mean poor growth.

Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are two vices that can take a toll on your health in a variety of ways. More specifically, these habits may worsen certain types of arthritis.

Steroid abuse is always bad, but for teens the damage can be more serious and last longer. Steroids can change the way an adolescent’s brain develops and vital organs function.

Experiencing abuse as a child means more than a higher risk of mental illness. Researchers are learning that abused children are at risk for various long-term physical issues as well.

Saying "thank you" is likely one of the earliest behaviors parents teach their children. If kids can maintain gratitude through adolescence, they may have better overall mental health.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other medical conditions need care for both, and new research suggests that ASD treatments may need to take other medical problems under consideration.

Growing up is hard to do - especially if you're a girl. While mood swings and emotional highs and lows are all a normal part of adolescence and hormones, major depression shouldn't be.

Pregnancy is an emotional time. As such, depression is a common problem during and after pregnancy. When pregnant women take depression medications, there can still be risks for their unborn children.

Fetal alcohol syndrome results when babies are exposed to high amounts of alcohol in the womb. It usually involves distinctive facial features - but not always. A recent study has found that children may have problems with brain development or behavioral development as a result of fetal alcohol syndrome even if their outward appearance doesn't show the symptoms of the disorder. Don't drink while pregnant. The study, led by Devon Kuehn, MD, of the Epidemiology Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), was part of a long-term...