Skin-to-skin contact between parents and babies — often called “kangaroo care” — provides major benefits to preemies’ hearts and brains, Australian researchers say. They assessed 40 babies born about 10 weeks early with an average weight of 2.9 pounds. Normal birth weight is 6.6 pounds. One hour a day of kangaroo care significantly improved blood… read on >
Having a child with cancer doesn’t appear to affect parents’ risk of splitting up or their plans to have more kids. That’s the conclusion of a Danish study that compared more than 12,400 parents of children diagnosed with cancer between 1982 and 2014 to nearly 70,000 parents whose kids were cancer-free. Parents were followed until… read on >
After weeks of confinement to prevent the spread of COVID-19, kids, teens and grownups alike are probably getting on one another’s nerves big time by now. So what’s the secret to defusing bouts of pouting, screaming and crying? Experts suggest parents start with understanding. Children and teens miss the lack of personal connection they’re used… read on >
Some pregnant women with COVID-19 do become severely ill, and the risk may be elevated for those who were obese or had conditions like asthma before pregnancy, a new study suggests. As with all things COVID-19, researchers have had limited information on whether pregnancy puts women at any greater risk of severe illness — or… read on >
Lots of TV time, no PE classes, and a fridge full of food: It’s a recipe for weight gain for kids under “stay at home” rules. But there are ways parents can help them stay healthy, says registered dietitian Audrey Koltun. “During quarantine, we hear we should try to stay healthy, not overeat, and exercise,… read on >
(HealthDay News) — Nearly 36,000 American lives would have been spared if strict social distancing measures had been enacted across the country just one week earlier than they were, new estimates suggest. And if those measures had been imposed two weeks before most people started staying home, about 54,000 COVID-19 deaths would have been avoided… read on >
The more pregnancies losses a woman has, the greater her risk of developing diabetes, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on nearly 25,000 Danish women who were born between 1957 and 1997 and diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between 1977 to 2017. The women were compared with a control group of nearly 248,000 women… read on >
(HealthDay News) — All 50 states have started reopening their economies as of Wednesday, more than two months after the new coronavirus first forced America into lockdown. Connecticut will be among the last states to return to business, when its stay-at-home order lifts and stores, museums and offices are allowed to reopen, The New York… read on >
(HealthDay News) — President Donald Trump told the World Health Organization on Monday that the United States would permanently end all funding to the organization if it did not agree to make significant changes in the next 30 days. The threat was delivered in a letter that Trump posted on his Twitter account. Sent to… read on >
Despite numerous studies suggesting that certain drugs touted by President Donald Trump as “game changers” against coronavirus are actually useless and even harmful, Trump on Monday claimed he has been taking one of them for more than a week. Trump said he has been taking the drug hydroxychloroquine for about a week and a half… read on >
