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UCT through social programs has little or no effect on postpartum mood; evidence lacking for all other associations read on >

Singing to your baby can soothe them considerably and improve their overall mood, a new clinical trial shows. Parents given smartphone-based music enrichment training sang more often to their babies, and those babies were generally happier and more content, researchers reported May 28 in the journal Child Development. The smartphone training “successfully increased the frequency… read on > read on >

The top U.S. health agency will no longer recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women. Tuesday’s announcement by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bypasses the typical vaccine recommendation process, which includes review by experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The Washington Post… read on > read on >

Preschoolers who don’t naturally lose weight are more likely to develop full-fledged childhood obesity by age 9, a new study says. Most kids tend to see their body-mass index (BMI) decline between ages 1 and 6, before starting to slowly gain weight as they grow, researchers reported recently in JAMA Network Open. (BMI is an… read on > read on >

U.S. mothers are struggling with both their mental and physical health, a new study says. The percentage of mothers who report excellent mental health dropped 12 points between 2016 and 2023, from 38% to 26%, researchers reported today in JAMA Internal Medicine. Mothers reporting excellent physical health dropped by four points, from 28% to 24%,… read on > read on >

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is urging lawmakers to take stronger steps to protect children from the potential dangers of social media. In a recent interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Murthy said Congress has failed to act on what he described as a growing crisis. “Congress has not stepped up to… read on > read on >

The first day of preschool can be tough — lots of new faces, unfamiliar sounds and the sudden goodbye to Mom or Dad can be overwhelming. But what if something as simple as the ceiling could make it a little easier? New research suggests that reducing noise in preschool classrooms can help calm children and… read on > read on >

Women are 10 times more likely to develop postpartum psychosis if they have a sister who experienced the condition after an earlier pregnancy, a new study says. Postpartum psychosis is a rare but serious mental illness that causes severe mood swings, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia and thoughts of self-harm among new mothers. If left untreated, the… read on > read on >

Social media does indeed appear to be making kids more prone to depression, a new study says. Preteens are more likely to develop symptoms of depression as their use of social media increases, researchers reported May 21 in JAMA Network Open. Depression symptoms increased 35% as kids’ average social media use rose from seven minutes… read on > read on >

Louise Duffield, 60, was relieved to receive a normal mammogram result in 2023, but agreed to undergo an additional MRI scan recommended as part of a clinical trial. Her mammogram showed she had very dense breasts, which can sometimes prevent detection of breast cancer. The clinical trial was intended to test whether extra scans would… read on > read on >