Behind the Headlines

Childless couples who wanted kids 'die younger'

Thursday Dec 6 2012

Childlessness “may increase likelihood of early death” BBC News has reported. The story is based on a study of more than 21,000 Danish couples seeking IVF treatment. Researchers found that women who did not go on to have a child...

Premature birth survival rates on the rise

Wednesday Dec 5 2012

'Premature babies study shows survival rates on rise' is the headline in The Guardian, which is one of many sources reporting the news that survival rates for babies born between 22 and 25 weeks have risen overall since 1995...

Whooping cough vaccine for pregnant women

Friday Nov 30 2012

"Pregnant women are to be given the whooping cough vaccine for the first time following the biggest outbreak of the disease for 20 years and the deaths of 10 babies," The Daily Telegraph has reported…

Tool to predict babies likely to become obese

Thursday Nov 29 2012

“Parents can learn whether their newborn is at risk of becoming fat using a simple online calculator,” The Daily Telegraph has reported. The story is based on a study that looked at whether a baby’s chances of becoming obese in childhood…

Car exhaust fumes 'link' to autism

Tuesday Nov 27 2012

A potential link between pollution and autism is being widely reported in the media, with The Sun headline claiming 'Exhaust fume link to autism in infants and The Daily Telegraph reporting that 'Traffic fumes linked to autism...

Yawning while in the womb may offer insight into baby’s health

Thursday Nov 22 2012

'Ultrasound scans that catch unborn babies yawning in the uterus may help doctors monitor the normal development of children in the womb' The Guardian suggests. As an new study offers the theory that yawning may be a sign of nervous system development…

Is childcare ‘making kids chubbier’?

Tuesday Nov 20 2012

'Children who go to nursery are 50% more likely to be overweight than those cared for by their parents' the Daily Mail reports. This follows a Canadian study that found that kids sent to daycare were 50% more likely to be overweight in later childhood…

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Will pregnancy stress make your kid's life hard?

Monday Nov 19 2012

'Children whose mothers were stressed during pregnancy are more likely to be bullied at school' the Daily Mail claims after the publication of a new study looking at whether stress in pregnancy can be passed down to the child…

New meningitis B vaccine gets go-ahead

Monday Nov 19 2012

The announcement of a new meningitis vaccine has been widely reported in the papers, with the Daily Star claiming it could soon save thousands of lives in the UK. The Daily Mail predicts it will "soon be offered to all babies" to protect against...

Weekly glass of wine in pregnancy 'harms kids' IQ'

Thursday Nov 15 2012

‘Any wine and kid’s a plonker,’ is today’s Sun headline. This headline achieves a triple whammy of badness – being fearmongering, crassly offensive and, to cap it all, inaccurate. The Sun headline – and...