It can be frustrating to watch your toddler or your baby suffer from a cold or a bad cough. But giving them over-the-counter medicines is not usually a good idea.

The ability of doctors to care for newborns with birth defects continues to improve in the US. Babies who may have died from a serious defect decades ago are more likely to survive now.

The effects of a mother's body on her developing child are still mysterious in many ways. For example, the possible effects of emotional stress on a baby aren't totally understood.

Deciding whether to take medication while pregnant can be a tough decision. It becomes tougher when the risks and benefits are not always clear, such as with mental health medications.

Women might think that not having enough of certain vitamins during pregnancy can hurt their developing child. That may be true sometimes, but not always.

The causes of autism increasingly appear to come from a variety of different risk factors. One of those risk factors may be related to the childhood experiences of the children's mothers.

Babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy are considered preterm babies. Being born early can put babies at a higher risk for a variety of medical conditions.

Advances in prenatal medicine have meant doctors can save babies more often when they are born extremely early, such as halfway through a pregnancy. But medicine can only do so much.

Vaccines save lives by preventing a person from getting a disease or dramatically lowering their risks for the disease. But vaccines are not perfect. Their protection can wear off.

If possible victims of child abuse could be identified early on, it could save a lot of heartache and pain for everyone involved. Paying attention to babies' injuries may be an important step. A recent study found that infants who are victims of child abuse are more likely to have had another earlier unlikely injury when they were even younger – before they could even crawl. Among a group of abused and nonabused babies evaluated at a hospital, only the abused children had histories of previous injuries, such as bruising. The researchers found that babies with a suspicious minor inj...