Some young children are virtual shut-ins, rarely leaving their homes to play, a new poll shows. About 1 in 10 preschoolers and toddlers go outside to play once a week or less, according to results from the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Playing outside has been shown…  read on >  read on >

Trick-or-treating is one of Halloween’s favorite traditions, but the excitement of the night can quickly lead to injuries if families aren’t careful. Each year, about 3,200 Halloween-related injuries are treated in U.S. emergency rooms, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. And research in JAMA Pediatrics shows that children are more likely to be…  read on >  read on >

Fetuses are eavesdropping on their mothers’ conversations late in pregnancy, with her voice providing an important boost to brain pathways essential for language, a new study says. Researchers observed this connection among a group of hospitalized premature babies who listened to recordings of their mothers reading to them, according to a report published Oct. 13…  read on >  read on >

Wildfire smoke could be damaging men’s fertility, according to a new study. Key measures of sperm quality appeared to drop among dozens of men participating in fertility treatments, researchers recently reported in the journal Fertility and Sterility. “These results reinforce growing evidence that environmental exposures — specifically wildfire smoke — can affect reproductive health,” said…  read on >  read on >

Heart-related health problems might affect as many as 1 in 7 pregnancies, even among women without any prior heart disease, a new study says. Researchers found a steady increase in heart-related health problems among more than 56,000 pregnancies between 2001 and 2019 in New England. Heart attack, stroke, heart failure, blood clots, high blood pressure…  read on >  read on >