A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
High blood pressure during pregnancy poses serious risks to mothers and babies. It may also increase the risk for childhood obesity, a new study reports. Chinese researchers studied 88,406 mother-child pairs, with complete data on maternal blood pressure during pregnancy and multiple follow-ups between ages 4 and 7 for the children. About 10 percent of [...]
gettyimages I felt like I had nowhere and no one to turn to. Until I saw my Year 10 Coordinator. I was scared he would react like everyone else. But he didn't. The words he said changed my life. "Bernadette, the journey might be different now but the destination can stay the same." [...]
Depression is a serious mental illness that has many negative consequences for sufferers. But depression among pregnant women may also have an impact on their developing babies. Children of depressed parents are at an increased risk of developing depression themselves, a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. These children also display alterations in the [...]
As a foetus grows, it's constantly getting messages from its mother. It's not just hearing her heartbeat and whatever music she might play to her belly; it also gets chemical signals through the placenta. A new study, which will be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that this [...]
It has long been the belief that cerebral palsy occurs when a child experiences a lack of oxygen during pregnancy or at birth; however, the Australian Collaborative Cerebral Palsy Research Group, based at the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute, has found at least 14% of cerebral palsy cases are likely caused by a genetic [...]
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders are a group of conditions that develop in children whose brains are permanently and irreversibly damaged before they are born. They can manifest in a range of ways, from learning difficulties to developmental delays, sensory overload, impaired memory, impulsiveness and co-ordination problems. The single factor shared by everyone on the spectrum [...]
More than half of women who binge drink continue to do so during pregnancy, an Australian study has found, with fewer than one in five following guidelines to abstain from alcohol. A study of 1577 women who drank alcohol before becoming pregnant found many did not alter their consumption after conception. Researchers from the University [...]
Surprise and disappointment accompanied the recent publication of country by country test results from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study when Australian children unexpectedly performed poorly. In the reading literacy test our children rated 27 out of the 49 countries tested and in the maths [...]
Pregnant and punished: Dolly and teen pregnancy Girl Mag Review Dolly November 2013 Melinda Tankard Reist ‘What it’s really like to be a teen mum’ starts off: ‘Babies might seem cute, but having one of your own is no joke’. Is anyone really saying having a baby is a joke? Do girls really think it’s [...]
The children of women who are depressed during their pregnancy may be more likely to succumb to depression themselves by the age of 18, according to new research. A large study from Bristol University, published in a leading medical journal, suggests that levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which are raised in depression, may affect [...]
