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If you want to get pregnant, it’s important to know everything you can about ovulation. Misinformation on ovulation can decrease your odds of conception. When researchers surveyed 1,000 women ages 18 to 40 about basic female reproduction, more than half the respondents were confused or missing essential information on getting pregnant and female fertility. So if you’re unclear on ovulation and conception, you are not alone. Here is what you need to know about ovulation to help you make informed decisions on starting your family....

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and bipolar disorder have some common symptoms and may sometimes co-occur. Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference that affects how people communicate, behave, learn, and interact. Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that causes episodes that impact a person’s emotional state, energy levels, and behavior. In this article, we discuss the connection between autism and bipolar disorder and autistic people’s experiences of bipolar disorder. While some autistic traits can mimic bipolar symptoms, bipolar disorder and autism are not the same....

Research shows that too much screen time can cause behavioral and emotional problems in children. A new report abstracted in Current Developments in Nutrition now adds dietary problems to that list. Key Takeaways A recent report notes that just a few hours of cell phone screen time may be linked to teens’ poor food choices. More research is needed.Mindless snacking and skipping meals can contribute to weight gain.Playing games, viewing social media, and watching videos were activities more prone to lead to eating junk food and poor food choices....

Sidewalk chalk games are one of the easiest ways you’ll find to prompt active, imaginative outdoor play. I’ll bet you have a few sticks of sidewalk chalk stashed away somewhere (or more likely, a whole bucket of the stuff). It’s inexpensive, and kids love it. But have you ever thought about using it for more than coloring? Try these games to get kids moving on your driveway, sidewalk, or playground....

Labor and delivery complications are relatively rare, but they do happen, and they’re increasingly common. Most complications can be identified and managed to ensure the delivery is safe. However, some problems during labor are serious, even life-threatening, for a pregnant person and their baby. It’s normal to feel worried about the possibility that something could go wrong when you go into labor. You might already know that you have risk factors that could make a complication more likely when you give birth....

Hedonic adaptation, also known as “the hedonic treadmill,” is a concept studied by positive psychology researchers and others who focus on happiness and well-being that refers to people’s general tendency to return to a set level of happiness despite life’s ups and downs. Hedonic adaptation is an adaptation-level phenomenon, which is a term that describes how humans become insensitive to new stimuli, and quickly readjust to an emotional baseline. Therefore, the stimulus needed to create an emotion—like happiness or excitement—needs to be more intense than the last stimulus in order for someone to feel its effects....

ADHD does not go away, usually. It was once thought that children would grow out of ADHD as they developed and matured. We now know that ADHD symptoms can continue into adolescence and beyond—throughout a person’s life. While some kids may seem to outgrow the disorder (or no longer have symptoms that result in impairment), in most cases kids with ADHD grow up to be adults with ADHD. Though ADHD is chronic in nature, symptoms may present in differing ways as a person moves through life stages....

Donor insemination is a fertility treatment that involves using a sperm donor to conceive. Insemination typically refers to intrauterine insemination (IUI) with a donor or an intended parent’s sperm, but donor insemination can also be used with intra-vaginal insemination or as part of an IVF cycle as well. Between 2006 and 2010 an estimated 700,000 women between the ages of 25-44 underwent insemination procedures. However, the actual insemination rate is likely much higher....

The name Eden means “place of pleasure and delight.” It is a magical, peaceful name with biblical roots and Hebrew origins. According to the bible, the Garden of Eden was God’s gift to the first humans, Adam and Eve. As the story goes, it was a luscious garden that God intended for Adam and Eve to live in peacefully, contently, and innocently as they effortlessly reaped the fruits of their paradise....

In today’s “stay busy” culture of hustling and side-hustling, a chronically productive mindset has become the norm. Outside of work and activities deemed constructive or profitable, there’s little time for play and even less emphasis on its importance to mental health. Key Takeaways In today’s culture of chronic productivity, leisure time is often viewed as a waste.But new research shows that those who share this view are more likely to experience negative mental health outcomes....

This has been a cold and flu season like no other, and parents have been feeling the brunt of it. RSV, flu, and a host of other icky cold viruses have been circulating at exceptionally high levels this fall. COVID-19 is starting to make a comeback too. Parents of young children have been dealing with one illness after another, and with the holiday season coming in full swing, we are desperate for a respite....

Going to the grocery store can be a chore, but it can also offer a number of learning opportunities for children of all ages. Grocery store learning includes using money and budgeting skills, promoting knowledge of food groups, and practicing reading and writing. Goal of the Activity: To practice math and literacy skills in the real-life environment of the grocery store Skills Targeted: Food groups, estimation, life skills, early literacy skills...

Many of us don’t break up with a significant other when we should, for many different reasons. Some of us are afraid to be alone; others fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy (“I’ve already invested so much time and effort in this relationship, I can’t give up now”). But most of us just ignore the signs that a relationship is falling apart because it’s easier to believe that everything is okay…until it’s not....

If you’re expecting or have had a baby in the past few years, you’ve probably heard of lip ties. You may have heard that they can affect breastfeeding, and sometimes make it extremely challenging. You may have also heard that lip ties can affect the spacing of your child’s teeth, and may even affect their speech. Or, you may have heard that lip ties have little impact on breastfeeding, and the whole thing is overblown....

If you are applying for a new job or looking for life or health insurance, don’t be surprised if you have to take a drug test, which may include testing for nicotine. This makes it important to know how long nicotine stays in your system, which can vary from 24 hours to 90 days based on several factors (which we will discuss) and the type of test used. In fact, smoke-free hiring practices have become increasingly common in the workplace....

One of the most common pieces of advice that seasoned parents offer to new parents of twins and multiples is to get the babies on a schedule or routine. Many parents credit a schedule with saving their sanity. But what exactly does it mean and how do you achieve it? Parenting Twins Isn’t the Same as Parenting Singletons Some parents are horrified by the thought of instituting a schedule, preferring a more relaxed, less rigid approach....

Your libido—your sex drive—normally fluctuates over time. Everything from daily stress to hormone fluctuations can affect it. Age can be a factor, too, but people can maintain healthy sex drives well into their elderly years. If you’d like to increase your libido, try any (or all!) of these 10 simple methods. Manage Anxiety It’s hard to feel sexual when you’re feeling anxious, and that translates clinically. In fact, anxiety has been proven to worsen sexual dysfunction....

If your child is excelling at school, you might be wondering if their grade is too easy for them. Should your child skip a grade, known as grade acceleration in educator parlance, to avoid boredom and stay engaged and mentally healthy? Is that a good reason to accelerate a full grade? There is no simple answer to this question. Instead, use your knowledge of your child and look at the options available to you at your local school....

Your child is doing well on ADHD medication—until it starts to wear off. Then, they suddenly develop a whole range of severe mood and behavior symptoms. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Your child is likely experiencing what is often referred to as medication rebound. A small percentage of children with ADHD do experience these rebound effects at the tail-end of their medication dosing. As the medicine’s effect wears off, people sometimes experience negative side effects such as a marked change in their demeanor, excessive moodiness, irritability, anger, nervousness, sadness, crying, fatigue, and even an increase in the severity of ADHD symptoms....

If your child bites their nails, they’re not the only one. Around 50% of children between 10 and 18 bite their nails at least occasionally, and for many kids, the habit starts even younger. It’s one of the most common “nervous habits,” a category that also includes hair-twisting, nose-picking, and thumb-sucking. Formally, it’s characterized as a body-focused repetitive behavior. While some kids bite their nails because they are fidgety, others don’t know what else to do when they feel anxious....