Exactly how does prenatal alcohol exposure slow down a kid’s cognitive ability? Compared to normal kids, they seem to have a much tougher time with ‘higher order’ thought process.

By the time most women's due dates roll around, they may be more than ready to greet their newborns, but it's unclear if inducing women at week 40 is as safe as continuing to wait.

If boys will be boys, that's generally because of the testosterone coursing through their bodies, but how much of this testosterone results from the environment and how much is genetic?

Once a woman reaches full term in her pregnancy, it can be hard not to wish the baby would arrive already. Fortunately, choosing to be induced is no riskier than waiting for labor.

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...

Parents and docs know preemies come with a range of possible health risks, but what about the little bundles that arrive late instead of early? Turns out they have a few risks too. A recent study has found that being born after 42 weeks of pregnancy is linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a higher number of behavioral and emotional problems in early childhood. Try to give birth at term - when your baby is due. Lead author Hanan El Marroun , a researcher in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology at Erasmus MC in the Netherlands, ...

While your newborn baby likely steals your heart from the moment you see him, you also want to be sure his heart is in tip-top working order. A simple screening may tell you. A recent study from England has provided evidence supporting the practice of screening newborn babies for heart defects at birth using a method called pulse oximetry . Screening for heart defects is recommended for newborns. Dr. Shakila Thangaratinam , a clinical senior lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, led the research project that pulled together the results of 13 individual studies looking a...

Want to hear another reason breastfeeding is more beneficial for a baby than formula-feeding? Apparently, breastfed babies get more of the good germs partying in their tummies.

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...