A recent study reports the risk of developing schizophrenia is approximately 67% greater among children of women who have experienced the loss of a loved-one during their first trimester of pregnancy (but not prior to pregnancy and not after the first trimester). According to the report in the February issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers studied comprehensive data from 1.38 million Danish births over a 22 year period. Nearly 22,000 of the mothers were exposed to the death of a relative, over 14,000 were exposed to a relatives’ serious illness. The children whose mothers were exposed to extreme stress such as a death or major illness of a close relative were then followed from the age of 10 until death to identify any onset of schizophrenia. Over 7,000 of the children studied went on to develop schizophrenia. The findings support the theory that severe maternal stress impacts fetal brain development profoundly inside the womb.

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The Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health advisory to warn parents and caregivers about the use of over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold products for children under the age of 2. These products need to be avoided completely for sick babies and toddlers “because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur,” announced Charles Ganley, MD, director of the FDA’s Office of Nonprescription Products. “These medicines, which treat symptoms and not the underlying condition, have not been shown to be safe or effective in children under 2,” he went on to say. In the same announcement, the FDA said it is reviewing whether these OTC medicines can be used safely for children 2 to 11 years old. This is not the first warning about cough and cold remedies when it comes to young children: Last October, drug companies quit selling dozens of these medications targeted specifically to babies and toddlers. For more information go to Child Health Advisory.

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Actress/singer/designer Jennifer Lopez, 38, and husband Marc Anthony, 39, welcomed their double-blessing just after midnight on Friday, February 22^nd. J.Lo gave birth to fraternal twins; a girl and a boy. The couple’s baby girl was the first to arrive, at 12:12 am and weighed 5 lbs, 7 oz. Their baby boy arrived only 11 minutes later at 12:23 am. He weighed 6 lbs even. The twins were born in Long Island, New York. Although the babies’ names have not been released just yet, Jennifer’s mother had two baby bracelets engraved recently and a shopper overheard her saying the names “Max” and “Emme”. Word on the street is that they will be receiving 6 million for the first public photos of their twins. A representative for the couple reports that, “Jennifer and Marc are delighted, thrilled and over the moon.” Congrats Jennifer and Marc!

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