The use of opiate drugs among pregnant women has more than quadrupled from 2000 to 2009 - which has led to approximately one baby being born every hour with signs of drug withdrawal. The rate of babies born in 2009 with neonatal abstinence syndrome is approximately three times the rate in 2000, and the increase has had even greater impact because of increased costs associated with the condition, according to a recent study. Ask a therapist about drug addition programs. Neonatal abstinence syndrome is a complex condition in newborns that includes a range of problems resulting fro...

Knowing what pesticides are used around you or on the food you eat may not always be possible. But knowing the effect they can have on unborn children may help you decide how to shop. Chlorpyrifos ( CPF ) is a widely used pesticide that has been used in agriculture since 1965. Although use of it in residential areas was phased out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2001, it was commonly heavily used in cities and continues to be used today away from urban areas. Avoid pesticide exposure and consider organic food while pregnant. Virginia Rauh , ScD , an epidemiol...

If money is always low and stress or depression is always high, moms may be overfeeding their babies - and thereby increasing their kids' risks of obesity. A recent unpublished study being presented at a conference found that the unhealthy practice of adding cereal to babies' bottles tends to occur more often among low-income mothers who are single and/or showing symptoms of depression or high stress. Don't add cereal to your baby's bottle. Lead author Candice Taylor Lucas, MD, a an associate professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital...

Breast is best… but what about pacifiers? It's commonly been thought that giving a baby a pacifier might cause problems with breastfeeding.

Feeling stressed out during your pregnancy? A round of yoga or a meeting with your therapist for stress management tips may help your baby too. An unpublished study being presented at a conference on children's health points to the possibility that first trimester stress for mom might translate to less iron for her baby. Low iron levels could mean slower physical and mental development later. Plan ways to relieve stress during your pregnancy. Rinat Armony-Sivan , PhD, director of the psychology research laboratory at Ashkelon Academic College in Israel, led a study to investig...

Researchers are learning more about how obesity develops from complex factors beyond just eating too much. One factor may be a fear of not having enough food for one's children. A recent study reveals that food insecurity, or the anxiety about whether a person will have enough food to be sure their family is well fed, might play a part in why some children go on to become severely overweight. Follow your doctor's recommendations on feeding your baby. Rachel Gross, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Children's...

Every pregnant mom wants to receive quality care from doctors and nurses. According to a new study, delivering your baby at a hospital that’s recognized for nursing excellence can impact your baby’s health. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing studied more than 72,000 very low-birth-weight ( VLBW ) infants (less than 3.3 pounds at birth).   They found that that babies born at hospitals recognized for nursing excellence ( RNE ) were less likely to suffer certain complications, compared to babies at hospitals that haven’t been recognized for nursing...

As the search continues for environmental factors that may contribute to the increasing autism cases, researchers are looking in every nook and cranny for possible associations.

You're nine months pregnant and ready to pop - but the due date is still a few weeks away. What do you do if your water breaks early?

When the H1N1 influenza blew through in the flu season of 2009-2010, some worried about an additional flu vaccine to get. Pregnant mothers who got jabbed may have helped their babies.