Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives (Free Press, 2010) by science writer Annie Murphy Paul. It chronicles her own pregnancy as well as her quest to find the latest science behind how environment--physical, chemical and biological--can shape a person for decades to come. During the fourth month of her pregnancy, she assesses the growing--but still incomplete--knowledge base about all of the everyday medications that can cross the placental boundary and impact prenatal development. [More]



Pregnancy - Health - Prenatal development - Reproductive Health - Annie Murphy Paul

A recent study revealed that men might connect strongly to publicity campaigns about depression and suicide, particularly when they have options for anonymous help. In Regensburg, Germany, a two-year intervention campaign resulted in a marked drop in male suicides...

While many young adults will share the details of their daily lives with dozens - sometimes hundreds - of friends on Facebook, communicating with their health care providers about mental illness is another story...

The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries. ~ "R.I.P. Bill Harrison: A Physician Legendary for Compassionate Care," Carole Joffe, RH Reality Check: The recent death of Fayetteville, Ark...

In recent years, several guidelines in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder have been put into practice globally. Practice guidelines across the health sphere are very important in guiding the care people receive...

Nearly 500 researchers, clinicians and mental health advocates are expected to attend the 2010 Marce Society International Conference, Perinatal Mental Health Research: Harvesting the Potential, Oct. 26 to 30, at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel in Pittsburgh...

Baby boomers appear to be driving a dramatic rise in suicide rates among middle-aged people, a new study finds. The journal Public Health Reports published the analysis by sociologists Ellen Idler of Emory and Julie Phillips of Rutgers University. "The findings are disturbing, because they're a reversal of a long-standing trend," Idler says. The suicide rate for the U.S...

Baby boomers appear to be driving a dramatic rise in suicide rates among middle-aged people, a new study finds. The journal Public Health Reports published the analysis by sociologists Ellen Idler of Emory and Julie Phillips of Rutgers University. "The findings are disturbing, because they're a reversal of a long-standing trend," Idler says. The suicide rate for the U.S...

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) today lifted one of three conditions placed on West London Mental Health Trust after it showed it has systems to ensure patients' detention papers were properly renewed under the Mental Health Act...

Virginia's population of veterans is 800,000 strong, more than 250,000 having served since 2001 - the highest ratio of any state. According to a RAND Corporation study, one-third of these veterans may be affected by post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, or traumatic brain injury...