Once a woman reaches full term in her pregnancy, it can be hard not to wish the baby would arrive already. Fortunately, choosing to be induced is no riskier than waiting for labor.

Viagra may not just be for dads anymore. Drugs can often be used for multiple unrelated purposes, and it turns out sildenafil , the generic version of Viagra, might help children and young adults with heart defects. A recent small study has found that the drug helped improve the functioning of the heart in a group of children who had a specific type of congenital heart defect. Sildenafil is already used to treat high blood pressure in the lungs, and some evidence has shown it might be able to treat adults with heart failure. Talk to your child's cardiologist about emerging hear...

If little Johnny or Susie is wetting the bed frequently at night, that doesn't necessarily mean they have a psychological or behavior issue. They might have a serious sleeping disorder.

Most women want a shapely, muscular body to enhance their looks. A new study reports that those firm, hard-won muscles also improve placental health in pregnant women.

Nobody wants to be yelled at on the playing field.  Supportive and fun sports environments can have a real impact on the stability of a child. Learning emotional management skills and lower rates of depression are just part of the benefits. Having fun while exercising has more than just physical perks. Research points to ‘caring climates’ for sports activities to improve feelings of depression and ability to manage negative thoughts. Find your child a fun sport to join! Mary Fry PhD., Associate Professor of health, sport and exercise science at the University of Kansas,...

Shedding pounds before getting pregnant can reduce a number of health risks - but it may also add a few points to your child's reading and math scores. A recent study has found a link between a mother's weight before pregnancy and their children's cognitive skills: obese women's children score lower on math and reading tests when they were 5 to 7 years old. Get to a healthy weight before becoming pregnant. Lead author Rika Tanda , a nursing doctoral candidate at Ohio State University, and colleagues wanted to investigate potential connections between a mother's pre-pregnancy ob...

Of course you adore your adorably chubby little toddler, but you do know how much of that chubbiness is normal or whether your child might actually be overweight? Many moms don't. A recent study found that the vast majority of mothers whose toddlers were overweight had a different perception of their little ones and could not correctly identify an image representing their baby's body size. Ask your doctor if your toddler is a healthy weight. Erin Hager, PhD, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, led the study of 281 pairs of moms and their toddlers, with an average a...

When it comes to feeding babies, it's not just what you feed your child but how you feed your child. Even breastmilk in a bottle affects weight gain differently than milk directly from the breast. A recent study has found that infants fed only by bottle gained more weight each month than if they were only breastfed, regardless of whether the bottle had breastmilk or another food. Breastfeeding is better than bottle - when possible. Lead author Ruowei Li, PhD, a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesi...

Parents and docs know preemies come with a range of possible health risks, but what about the little bundles that arrive late instead of early? Turns out they have a few risks too. A recent study has found that being born after 42 weeks of pregnancy is linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a higher number of behavioral and emotional problems in early childhood. Try to give birth at term - when your baby is due. Lead author Hanan El Marroun , a researcher in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology at Erasmus MC in the Netherlands, ...

The tricky thing about protecting people against bacterial meningitis is that so many different strains exist and the current vaccines protects against only a couple. A couple vaccines exist for specific strains of meningococcal serogroup B, which causes bacterial meningitis, but a vaccine that protects against this whole class of strains is not yet available. The conclusion of a recent trial for a vaccine that would protect people against a wide range of bacterial meningitis strains showed both good levels of effectiveness and a good safety record. Be sure you're up to date on...