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Infertility is defined as a person not being able to conceive or become pregnant after one year of unprotected sex. About one in six couples in Canada experience infertility. According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States, about 12 per cent of women aged 15-44 have difficulty becoming pregnant. Mental health struggles can follow a couple’s journey of attempting to become pregnant. Studies have shown that after one year of infertility, a woman is twice as likely to become depressed. Research has also shown that high anxiety can deter a woman’s changes of becoming pregnant. A new study published in PLOS One looked at the psychological impact of fertility treatment suspensions during the COVID-19 pandemic. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research looked at tactics for drawing youth to vaping. The study consisted of two parts. First, researchers gathered a substantial amount of evidence about why youth are drawn into vaping. Then, the researchers took all of these reasons that youth cite for taking up e-cigarettes and used it as a framework to see if e-cigarette advertisements tap into any of them. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry looked at maternal prenatal body mass index (BMI) and human fetal brain development. “Given knowledge that the physical well-being of a mother during pregnancy is important for the long-term brain health of her child, we sought to discover whether and how maternal BMI may relate brain development in the womb,” study author Moriah E. Thomason told us. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatric looked at the association between early neural activity and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). “We wanted to characterize early brain differences that can be detected before the behavioral signs of autism emerge,” study author Dr. Abigail Dickinson told us. [More]

A pair of new studies conducted on behalf of the not-for-profit Canadian Men’s Health Foundation (CMHF) looked at how COVID-19 is affecting fathers in Canada. “The impact of stress resulting from an unexpected change on the health and well-being of men and fathers was under reported in the research and media landscape,” Joanne Watson of the CMHF told us. “We wanted to understand more than just anecdotal information, such that men, and fathers in particular, were being impacted by the public health measures, including the economic, social and cultural restrictions." [More]

A survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) found the pandemic is taking a toll on the mental health of parents. Almost half of parents with children aged less than 18 report their stress relating to the COVID19 pandemic is high. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics looked at the number of times children visited emergency departments in the U.S. for mental health care. The purpose of the study was to describe the trends in pediatric mental health emergency department visits on a national scale. We know from other studies that often times, low pediatric volume and/or emergency departments located in non-metropolitan areas tend to be less prepared to treat children, as they may only see a few children a day. [More]

Children of parents with mental illness are at greater risk of injury than their peers. A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found that the risk is elevated for children of parents with mental illness up until the age of 17. [More]

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there can be devastating consequences for the unborn baby if a pregnant woman who is dependent on opioids is not properly treated. The function of the placenta can be comprised and the unborn baby can experience severe episodes of withdrawal. A new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine looked at maternity care and buprenorphine prescribing in new family physicians. [More]

Every industrialized country in the world has a maternity leave policy of 12 weeks or more, except the United States. Currently, women make up 47 per cent of the U.S. labor force. Despite that, only 16 per cent of employed Americans have access to paid parental leave. A new study published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry looked at the impact of paid maternity leave on the mental and physical health of mothers and children. [More]