Toy libraries across Australia are booming as more families turn to borrowing toys to save money, reduce waste and reconnect with their communities after COVID-19. Memberships at Australia’s 380-plus toy libraries have surged over the past two years, with new figures showing that over 130,000 families...
Most babies born to mothers with COVID-19 were separated after birth resulting in low breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact rates during the height of the pandemic, according to a new global study. Research at a Glance: A Murdoch Children’s Research Institute-led global study has found most...
Newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy improves chances of walking and quality of life A study by the Sydney Children's Hospital Network (SCHN) and UNSW (Sydney) researchers shows that early diagnosis means early treatment. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a childhood-onset motor neuron disease. Left untreated, it...
Researchers Melissa Tham, Cynthia Leung and Peter Hurley report that 4 key challenges remain About 100 early childhood experts are meeting in Canberra today for a national summit on children who are five and under. This is part of the Albanese government’s work to develop an early...
Women are often told their fertility ‘falls off a cliff’ at 35, but is that right? Asks Karin Hammarberg It’s a fact women’s fertility declines as they age. But the common description of fertility decline after age 35 as a “cliff” is more anxiety-provoking than factual. If...
Nishadi Withanage, Jessica Botfield and Danielle Mazza show optimising health before pregnancy can improve health outcomes for both the mother and her newborn. However, not everyone is aware of the need for good health before pregnancy – they generally start thinking about this during pregnancy. Modifiable risk...
Mianna Lotz looks at uterus transplants, who donates their uterus and asks what are the risks? The opportunity to conceive, carry and give birth to a biologically related child is a deep desire for many women and their partners. Since the introduction of IVF in 1978,...
Here’s what the science says, writes Mary Steen Soon after a baby is born, it’s getting more common these days for the father or non-birthing parent to be encouraged to put the newborn directly on their chest. This skin-to-skin contact is often termed “kangaroo care”, as...
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care reports: Six stillbirths a day. The care Australians receive throughout their pregnancy journey is set to improve with the release recently of the first national standard on stillbirth. Each year, more than 2,000 Australian families experience the...
A new online tool has been launched to support expectant parents in their choices around prenatal testing for chromosome conditions in their unborn baby. It’s YourChoice, created by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and James Cook University, aims to guide pregnant women through the prenatal testing...
