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Two-molecule blood test accurately identifies infections in febrile infants

A test that compares the levels of two molecules in the blood is able to accurately distinguish between bacterial and viral infections in newborn babies with fever in a small study presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress today (Sunday).

27 Sep 2026

Kangaroo care helps smaller babies. Now researchers are studying babies born at normal weight

Researchers examine whether extending SSC beyond the first hour can improve early weight changes, breastfeeding and other maternal and newborn outcomes in normal-birthweight infants.

27 Sep 2026

Early treatment may improve outcomes in Shwachman-Diamond syndrome

More than 90% of children born with the rare bone marrow condition called Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS) survive beyond age 20. But fewer than 30% live beyond age 50.

23 Sep 2026

Brain organoids reveal new clues for childhood epilepsy treatments

Tiny, year-old human brain organoids that mimic the brain of a newborn are providing new clues to potential treatments for a leading genetic cause of childhood epilepsy that typically manifests as the brain matures shortly after birth.

23 Sep 2026

Sex differences in infant attention are present hours after birth

Cambridge scientists have shown that girls and boys show differences in what they pay attention to, even at birth.

21 Sep 2026

Maternal depressive symptoms linked to higher infant mortality risk

Infants born to mothers with depressive symptoms immediately after delivery had a substantially higher risk of dying before their first birthday, according to researchers involved in a Rutgers-led study of more than 414,000 births in New Jersey.

17 Sep 2026

What four pregnancy eating patterns revealed about mothers and newborns

Researchers analyzing 1,404 pregnant women in Germany identified four distinct dietary patterns that differed substantially in maternal BMI, socioeconomic status, age, and gestational weight gain. A vegetable-rich pattern was also associated with selected neonatal measures, including greater birth length, but most newborn associations were modest or nonsignificant, and the observational study cannot establish causality.

6 Sep 2026

Pregnant Filipina women reveal creative ways to manage stress

The everchanging social, political, and economic landscape in many countries has become more tenuous and intense in recent years.

4 Sep 2026

As life expectancy rises, healthy aging is more important than ever

Global disease burden is shifting toward aging-related conditions as people live longer, with these diseases now representing the largest expected lifetime health burden for newborns across all income groups. Modeling suggests that reducing aging-related disease could produce unusually large and progressively greater gains in both longevity and healthy life expectancy because improvements in survival and health reinforce one another.

3 Sep 2026

Neurogenesis stalls in the brains of adults with major depressive disorder, study shows

Most of our brain's 100 billion neurons are created before we're born, but the trickle of neurons created in the adult brain hippocampus could be instrumental in preventing depression, suggest findings from a new study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

21 Aug 2026

Psychological factors determine maternal readiness to care for newborns

The first days after childbirth are a time of profound change – not only physically, but emotionally as well. Although the rooming-in model, in which mothers and newborns stay together around the clock, is standard practice in maternity wards, not every woman feels ready to care for her baby independently from the very first hours after delivery.

20 Aug 2026

Early-onset epilepsy tied to lower academic achievement

Childhood epilepsy is linked to significantly poorer exam grades and long term educational attainment, with the lowest levels of academic prowess among those whose neurological disorder started when they were very young, finds a large, long term Danish study, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

18 Aug 2026

Immune signaling pathway protects newborn heart cells from injury

Researchers at the University Hospital of Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have identified a previously unknown signaling pathway in the immune system that helps newborn heart cells survive and regenerate after injury.

17 Aug 2026

Pregnant women use Reddit to seek Tdap vaccine reassurance

An analysis of Reddit posts about the maternal Tdap vaccine made by pregnant women reveals expectant mothers turning to Reddit to seek advice and reassurance-with fewer outright instances of vaccine hesitation/refusal than has generally been observed for other types of vaccines, according to a study published on August 12, 2026 in the open access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Soojung Jo from Purdue University, United States, and colleagues.

12 Aug 2026

New combination therapy could permanently clear HIV in newborns

Every year, more than 120,000 newborns worldwide contract HIV, a global health burden that requires lifelong treatment for millions of people - assuming they have access and can afford it.

10 Aug 2026

Review challenges common breastfeeding myths in early postnatal care

An evidence review of international research suggests widespread misconceptions within the medical community about early milk production, pacifiers and breast pumps may be undermining breastfeeding success in the critical first days after birth.

2 Aug 2026

Study uncovers biological differences behind co-occurring conditions of Down syndrome

In a groundbreaking new study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome (Crnic Institute) discovered unique biological processes altered among individuals with Down syndrome who have different sets of co-occurring conditions.

23 Jul 2026

Prolactin activates brain pathway promoting maternal caregiving behavior

New research has found a hormone is responsible for making mothers' interactions with newborns feel rewarding rather than just necessary.

22 Jul 2026

Study reveals geographic gaps in breastfeeding initiation across America

A nationwide analysis led by a UC Riverside (Calif.) professor provides one of the clearest pictures yet of where mothers are least likely to begin breastfeeding their babies in the United States and what circumstances associate with lower rates.

20 Jul 2026

Early PFAS exposure linked to childhood intestinal inflammation

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals," during pregnancy and early life is associated with increased intestinal inflammation during childhood.

16 Jul 2026