Families come in many guises. Some parents are same-sex; others are single by choice. Growing numbers of children are conceived through assistive reproductive technology. What do these developments mean for the parents and children involved? Professor Susan Golombok’s book, Modern Families, examines ‘new family forms’ within a context of four decades of empirical research.
Financial incentives could help one in five women quit smoking during pregnancy, according to new research published today in the journal Addiction. The study, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, found that only a small number of women ‘gamed’ the system to receive the incentives whilst continuing to smoke.
Increased levels of stress hormones can lead pregnant mice to overeat, but affect growth of the foetus and, potentially, the long term health of the offspring, according to a study published today.
Many of us are infected with a virus we’ll never clear. While we’re healthy, it’s nothing to worry about, but when our immune system is suppressed it could kill us.
A new study suggests that mothers who breastfeed run a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s, with longer periods of breastfeeding further reducing the risk.
The management of childbirth and care of newborns have always been hotly-debated topics. PhD candidate Leah Astbury looks at narratives of reproduction in the 16th and 17th centuries and finds evidence for many of the same concerns.
Preliminary results from a pioneering study at Cambridge University paint a positive picture of the relationships formed between surrogates and the families they help to create.
Sophie Zadeh, a PhD candidate in the Centre for Family Research, is contributing to a new study of the well-being of single mothers by sperm donation and their children. Her initial findings confound many of the assumptions about this group of women.
Scientists find that micronutrients affect methylation, which has been associated with changes in the immune system.
Research provides new insight into why poor diet during pregnancy negatively affects offspring’s long term health.
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