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People just cannot help it—when someone is pregnant, they love to predict who a baby will look like. Will they have one parent’s eyes and the other’s hair? Will they be tall or short? Will they look exactly like one of their parents or not at all? It’s everyone’s favorite game. But there isn’t a foolproof way to know what your baby will look like before they’re born, even though lots of apps promise that they can predict your baby’s appearance....

Something about leaving an old year behind and looking ahead at the clean slate of a new one inspires most of us to try. We think about making lasting positive changes in our lives, and we do it with hope and enthusiasm. If you’re planning to start the new year without a cigarette in your hand, set yourself up for success by learning what it takes to quit and what to expect from the process....

Trying to decide if you want to have another baby can be a very difficult decision. It involves so many people’s thoughts and feelings: one or two parents, and the child(ren) already in the family. It’s impossible to say exactly how a second (or third, or fourth) child will change a family, but there are some things to consider that may help guide your decision-making process. Consider Everyone’s Feelings Babies smell good and they’re super cuddly....

Becoming a blended family is a huge adjustment. And while there’s much to celebrate, it’s also important to prepare for the many challenges you’re going to face as you transform what was “mine” and “theirs” into “ours". Before you take your relationship to the next level by getting married or moving in together, explore the following questions: How Will We Make Our Relationship a Priority? Especially if you’re used to being alone on dates or at one another’s homes, living together with your children is going to be an adjustment....

Dating is supposed to be fun and exciting. But there are times when abuse can creep in and dating, suddenly turns dark and scary. When this happens, it is anything but fun. Instead, it is filled with jealousy, control, manipulation, humiliation, and intimidation. And it is more common than you might think. In fact, 1.5 million high school students across the country experience abuse from a dating partner in a year’s time....

It was a big year for mental health in our headlines. Where the news of the prior two years focused primarily on destigmatization and spreading awareness of mental health challenges in the face of a global pandemic, 2022 showcased far more tangible shifts in our approach to care. Some very real solutions appear to be on the horizon and politicians, the federal government, school systems, celebrities, and medical researchers are all on board....

Everyone’s heard the advice that “breast is best” for feeding new babies, but what happens when you get pregnant with a new baby while you’re still nursing your older one? Is nursing during pregnancy safe? Breastfeeding and Miscarriage Although there are numerous conflicting opinions on the issue of breastfeeding during pregnancy, no research has ever found an increased risk of miscarriage in women who continue breastfeeding an older child during pregnancy....

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is available to all children ages 6 months and up. The vaccine has full Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in those 12 and up and emergency use authorization (EUA) for ages 6 months to 11 years. As school-age children have become eligible for vaccination, parents wonder if public school systems could make it mandatory for students to get vaccinated. Key Takeaways The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved for kids ages 6 months and up....

Parents have said for years that diet appears to play a role in their children’s symptoms of ADHD, and many have removed food dyes and additives, along with sugar, from their children’s plates in an effort to manage the condition. However, recent research is pointing to a new potential culprit for ADHD symptoms: gluten. When you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), you often behave impulsively and are easily distracted, and you probably have difficulty concentrating and focusing on important tasks....

Diabetes is a group of conditions that can affect how the body produces insulin and processes blood sugar. Depression is a mental disorder that causes low mood, loss of interest, and impairments in daily life. People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of developing depression, and people with depression are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Around 17.2% of people with diabetes will also develop depression, although research suggests that depression frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated....

Parents of gifted children may observe that these young people appear to need fewer hours of sleep than their peers do. Consider the case of a parent of a 12-year-old gifted son. The parent noticed that the boy didn’t sleep much as an infant and struggles with insomnia in middle school because he can’t seem to “turn off his brain.” Is such a phenomenon common with gifted kids? Learn more about the sleeping patterns of gifted children with this review....

Anxiety is a normal part of life and everyone experiences it to some degree from time to time. It can be challenging to deal with and can seem overwhelming when it reaches the point where you feel like it is extreme or out of control. This article discusses what you can do if you feel like your anxiety is excessive and disruptive to your life. It also covers some steps you can take to find relief....

Simone Biles, the face of the US Olympic gymnastics team, and greatest gymnast of all time made the call, on July 27th, to withdraw from the final all-around competition. Why would she put the US gymnastics team’s hopes of winning gold on the line like this? It wasn’t due to a physical injury, it was a choice she made for her own mental health. The decision shook the athletic world and made the bold statement that Olympians are far more than well-honed athletic machines—they’re people too, and their mental health deserves to be taken seriously....

The fear of intimacy, also sometimes referred to as intimacy avoidance or avoidance anxiety, is characterized as the fear of sharing a close emotional or physical relationship. People who experience this fear don’t usually wish to avoid intimacy, and may even long for closeness, but frequently push others away or even sabotage relationships nonetheless. Fear of intimacy can stem from several causes, including certain childhood experiences such as a history of abuse or neglect....

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) are considered perhaps the most effective antidepressant agents in the psychiatrist’s medical arsenal. They work by inhibiting the enzyme monoamine oxidase in the brain, thereby increasing levels of norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (​SSRIs), on the other hand, are used to treat depression in addition to many anxiety-related illnesses, including panic disorder (PD). They work by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin in the brain, causing an increase of serotonin....

When I first imagined pregnancy self-care, I thought of things like prenatal massages, yoga classes, and a relaxing babymoon on a beach somewhere far away. But when month four rolled around, my version of taking care of myself during pregnancy became chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, and modified bed rest. Personal wellness pivoted from being fun and easy to medically necessary. I remember how excited I was to reach the second trimester, especially as a big fitness lover....

When considering a career in psychology, you will likely wonder how much time it will take to become licensed and what type of degrees you’ll need to attain. The answer is not always so cut-and-dry. The amount of time it takes to complete your college education depends largely on your specialty area and career interests. If you are considering a career in psychology, it is important to be aware of all of the educational and training requirements it takes to become a licensed psychologist....

When you have a newborn, you naturally want to keep your baby close. This instinct keeps your baby safe. In fact, safe sleep experts recommend that babies sleep in the same room with parents—but not in the same bed—for at least 6 months, and ideally, for the first year of life. Additionally, babies should always be put to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)....

People who beat drug and alcohol addictions feel much better after they quit, but they typically endure a very difficult stage before they begin to feel better: withdrawal. If you’ve used alcohol, heroin, meth, or other substances for only a short time or have taken only small doses, you might not experience withdrawal. However, if you’ve been binge drinking, using alcohol and/or drugs for a long time, or taking increasingly higher doses over a short time, you might feel quite unwell physically for a while when you stop....

Play dates are a wonderful opportunity for you to make new mom friends while your kids make friends of their own. Learn all you need to know to have a great play date with other families and make sure all of you have a great, safe time week after week. This ultimate guide to planning the perfect play date has you covered from start to finish. Being a Hostess at Your Play Date Being a play date hostess can be a scary idea if you’ve never invited a bunch of moms and their friends over to your home before....