Autism Linked to Prenatal Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft?

    Autism diagnoses have increased rapidly over the last two decades; so has the number of women taking antidepressants during pregnancy ? from somewhere between 1% and 6% in the early 1990s to 7-13% mor…

    Depression: 3 Simple Questions
    Depression: 3 Simple Questions

    Most women with real postpartum depression are never diagnosed. Even though postpartum depression is very common, and even though identifying it can help both the baby and the mother, most cases slip …

    When Teens Are Depressed
    When Teens Are Depressed

    About 5 percent of children become clinically depressed at some point during the transition to adulthood. Depression is a burden both for the adolescents and their families and carries a number of ris…

    Digital Childhood, Physical World
    Digital Childhood, Physical World

    Today's generation of children is growing up unlike any previous generation in history. In the last 10 years there has been an explosion of digital and electronic media available to and even targeted …

    Kids' Sleep and Parents' Health
    Kids’ Sleep and Parents’ Health

    Sleep problems in babies, toddlers, and preschool kids are common. So are mental health problems, such as depression, in parents. Postpartum depression in mothers gets the most attention, but when a m…

    Flying High or Plunging Low
    Flying High or Plunging Low: Postpartum Depression

    Blue is a normal color in the rainbow of parenting emotions. Postpartum depression is much less common than the blues. But, if the blues are lasting more than a week or two, if you find you can't slee…

    There Are Good Reasons to be Blue
    There Are Good Reasons to be Blue

    Moms who have adopted their babies also commonly go through a blue period. And now that investigators have begun to look into it, we know that most dads (though less weepy) go through a blue period of…

    Raising a Resilient Child
    Raising a Resilient Child

    It's natural for parents to wish that they could prevent their children from experiencing heartache. But at some point in life, we will all experience disappointment and loss. We can't stop all painfu…

    Mental Illness Starts in Childhood
    Mental Illness Starts in Childhood

    Dr. Greene's take on childhood mental illness... For most people who develop mental illnesses, the problem usually starts in childhood or adolescence, according to a study published in the June 6, 200…

    Stress, Asthma, and 6 Weeks Later!
    Stress, Asthma, and 6 Weeks Later!

    Bouts of asthma come and go, brought on by various triggers. How might stressful life events affect asthma attacks? To find out, researchers tracked the frequency and severity of asthma attacks in sch…

    Pregnant and Depressed?
    Pregnant and Depressed?

    Health Canada has issued an August 2004 advisory that certain anti-depressant medicines taken during the third trimester of pregnancy may cause symptoms in the baby at birth. Health Canada is the coun…

    Postpartum Depression and the Pediatrician
    Postpartum Depression and the Pediatrician

    Dr. Greene's take on postpartum depression... It's not unusual for women to become depressed at some point during the first year after having a baby. Often this depression sets in sometime after the r…

    Another Adult Remedy Proves Not Good For Kids
    Another Adult Remedy Proves Not Good For Kids

    The popular antidepressant drug Effexor should not be started in children under the age of 18, according to a statement released September 19, 2003 by the British Committee on Safety of Medicines. The…

    Information Therapy and Play
    Information Therapy and Play

    I was on the faculty again at the annual Information Therapy conference in September 2003. My panel's topic was, "When does information become therapy?" My take is that the answer is very similar to t…

    Background Noise
    Background Noise

    I am a news junkie, curious to learn everything I can about what is happening in Iraq. But if a radio is on in the kitchen or in the car, or the television news is repeating itself in the background, …

    Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) and Their Impact on Growth Rates
    Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) and Their Impact on Growth Rates

    Some of the most widely prescribed medicines in the world are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). They are antidepressant medicines that have also been shown to be useful in a number of ot…

    Teens, Migraines, and Finger Temps
    Teens, Migraines, and Finger Temps

    Migraines affect at least 8 million children in the United States alone, resulting in more than one million missed school days each year. These headaches can be debilitating. Nevertheless, they are of…

    It's Time to Get That Old Trunk in the Attic
    It’s Time to Get That Old Trunk in the Attic

    Turn your cherished family photos into a bookstore quality book. Better yet -- make one for everyone on your list! Last year's holidays for Grandma, your favorite family vacation for the kids, and an …

    Teens and Tragedy
    Teens and Tragedy

    You may have been heard warnings about exposing young children to too much of the televised re-tellings of the tragic events. Teenagers, though, are at a different point in their lives. While some may…

    The Aftermath of Tragedy
    The Aftermath of Tragedy

    One of my children asked me to tell parents everywhere to please turn off their TV's and radios when their kids are around. He has a good point: children do not need to watch images of destruction ove…