Parents often put parental controls for their kids and keep an eye on their media consumption at all times but often neglect their own usage by a mile. When you are telling kids to not do certain things and then proceed to do it yourself, you send a hypocritical message to kids. They start believing that you are making up rules and they are not that important, because if they were you yourself would’ve been following it! While you may not think that your media usage should be your kid’s business, a new study shows that it has a direct effect on your kids. Not just their mentality, but also what your screen hours show them that the internet is a safe place where they can explore whatever content they want. It is very easy for kids to override the age rule and get access to mature content, which lead to them consuming these videos and media from an early age! A new study looked at how parents' phone use might affect whether their kids see inappropriate content. Researchers found that when parents spend a lot of time on their phones and don't have clear rules about media use at home, their kids are more likely to watch R-rated movies or play video games meant for adults. The study talked to over 10,000 kids aged 12 and 13.

What Did The Study Reveal?

A recent study published in the journal BMC Pediatrics has revealed a potential link between parents' phone habits and their children's consumption of inappropriate content. The researchers wanted to learn more about how parents can help their young teens with media use. They explained that while there's advice for younger kids and older teens, there's not much for this age group. These young teens are in a tricky stage, they're not little kids anymore, but they're not quite teenagers either. The study wanted to see how what parents do and the rules they make affect what kind of content young teens are exposed to.

Parents answered questions about their own phone use, like how often they try to limit their screen time around their kids. The kids also answered questions about how often they watch R-rated movies or play mature video games. The study found that the more time parents spent on their phones, the more likely their kids were to consume mature content. Things like using phones during meals or in bedrooms seemed to be especially linked to kids seeing this type of content.

Why Should Parent’s Mobile Usage Be A Concern?

Experts say it's important for parents to be aware of their own phone habits, because kids often copy what they see. They suggest that parents should "practice what they preach", if they make a rule about no phones at the dinner table, they should follow it too. Experts also recommend that families create a media plan together with clear rules, like limiting screen time during meals and before bed, talking about what they see online, not using screen time as punishment, and using it as a reward for good habits. Basically, the study shows that what parents do with their phones can really influence what their kids are doing online.

How You Can Reduce Your Screen Time?

First, see how much you're using them and set small goals to cut back. Make some areas and times in your house phone-free, like during meals and before sleep, this is a great chance to connect with your family. Turn off notifications you don't need and find fun things to do instead of being on your phone, maybe even things your family can do together. Put your phone away so it's not always tempting and think about why you're picking it up. Tell your family you're trying to use your phone less, and maybe they'll join you! If it's tough, think about taking a break from all screens for a bit. It takes time, so be patient with yourself and enjoy the extra time you have with your family. This not only benefits you but also sets a positive example for your children.

Rare infections transmitted from a pregnant woman to her baby may be linked to a higher risk of autism and intellectual disability, according to a large new study.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found that children with congenital TORCH infections had about three times the risk of autism compared with children without these infections.

What Is TORCH?

TORCH refers to infections that can be transmitted from mother to foetus during pregnancy, including:

• T = Toxoplasma
• O = Other (including infections such as syphilis):
• R = Rubella
• C = Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• H = Herpes simplex virus

These infections can cross the placenta and infect the developing fetus.

“It is important to emphasize that it is unusual for these infections to be transmitted from mother to child. They account for a very small proportion of all cases of autism in the population, but for those children who are actually affected, we see a clearly elevated risk of both autism and intellectual disability,” said Reneé Gardner, a researcher at the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet.

Also read: Stem Cell Therapy For Autism: What India’s New Advisory Means For Patients

TORCH Infections And Autism Risk

Published in JAMA Pediatrics, the study analysed data from 3.7 million people born in Sweden between 1987 and 2021. Of these, 975 had a diagnosed congenital TORCH infection. The participants were followed for up to three decades.

Compared with children without a congenital TORCH infection, those with one were:

• About three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism
• More than seven times more likely to have an intellectual disability
• Up to 30 times more likely to have severe to profound intellectual disability

What Did The Sibling Comparison Show?

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The researchers also compared children with TORCH infections with their unaffected siblings to assess whether shared family factors could explain the findings.

The results were similar, suggesting that the associations were not explained solely by factors shared within families.

No clear association was found between TORCH infections and ADHD or obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, children with the infections had poorer academic performance on average, even when they did not have an autism or intellectual disability diagnosis.

Can TORCH Infections Be Prevented?

“Although these congenital infections are rare, some of them can be prevented, which makes them important from a public health perspective,” Gardner said.

The researchers also noted that rubella has virtually disappeared in Sweden following the introduction of national vaccination program. The prevention also depends on the infection:

• Toxoplasmosis: Avoid raw or undercooked meat, wash produce and take precautions when handling cat feces.
• Syphilis and other infections: Pregnancy screening and appropriate treatment can reduce transmission.
• Rubella: MMR vaccination before pregnancy can prevent infection.
• CMV: Good hand hygiene and avoiding contact with young children's saliva and urine can reduce exposure.
• Herpes simplex: Identifying and managing genital herpes during pregnancy can reduce the risk of transmission to the newborn. Caesarean delivery may be recommended in some cases when active lesions are present during labor.

We may now have a clearer explanation behind ‘mommy brain’ or ‘momnesia’. Walking into a room and forgetting why you went there or losing track of a conversation is not simply a side effect of becoming a mother.

A new study has discerned a possible explanation for the phenomenon commonly known as “momnesia,” “pregnancy brain” or “mommy brain”. The findings were published in Science Bulletin.

According to the study, persistent high levels of estrogen during pregnancy may disrupt a particular brain circuit involved in memory.

Researchers found that high estrogen affected communication between the hypothalamus and hippocampus, two brain regions involved in regulating different aspects of brain function, including memory.

What Is “Momnesia”?

Pregnancy-related forgetfulness is generally considered to be temporary changes in memory and cognition during pregnancy.

Researchers say forgetfulness can become noticeable in late pregnancy stage and may continue well into the postpartum period before improving.

Women may have trouble recalling names or words, keeping track of events or completing everyday tasks.

According to the author of the study Dr Zheng Sun of Baylor College of Medicine, about 80% of pregnant women report these changes. The researchers say that this condition does not appear to be a decline in intelligence or cognitive ability.

According to Reuters, Dr Yanlin He, another study leader, said, “The important point is that pregnancy does not simply make someone ‘less intelligent.’ The effects appear to be more subtle and specific to certain cognitive tasks.”

Also read: Vitamin D & Pregnancy: Could Vitamin D Deficiency Increase Risk Of Premature Birth?

Link Between Pregnancy Hormones And Memory

During pregnancy, estrogen levels increase drastically and reach its peak during the third trimester.

The researchers focused on estrogen receptor alpha in neurons located in the lateral hypothalamus. In experiments based on mice who were exposed to high estrogen level conditions like in pregnancy, these neurons became more active.

Those neurons send signals to the hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory formation. The researchers found that increased activity in this region suppressed hippocampal activity and impaired performance on memory tests.

When researchers switched off the hypothalamus-to-hippocampus pathway, the memory problems in the mice were prevented. Activating the pathway, meanwhile, impaired memory even without elevated estrogen.

Removing estrogen receptors from the hypothalamic neurons also reversed the estrogen-related memory problems in the mice.

Also read: Preeclampsia May End With Pregnancy. Your Heart Risk May Not

Does Pregnancy Actually Make You Forgetful?

The researchers also assessed memory in 70 women, including women at different stages of pregnancy and women who were not pregnant.

Memory problems surfaced during late pregnancy stages and were linked with higher circulating estrogen levels. The researchers reported changes across several memory-related tasks.

But it is important to note that the researchers did not directly measure or manipulate this specific brain circuit in pregnant women. That means the human findings support the mechanism observed in mice, but do not prove that exactly the same circuit causes memory changes during human pregnancy.

The study has cemented evidence that many pregnant women experience forgetfulness, but it does not mean pregnancy causes permanent memory loss. For most women, pregnancy-related forgetfulness generally improves after childbirth.

The gut microbiome may influence how type 1 diabetes develops in children at high genetic risk, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that children whose gut microbiome stopped developing early had about three times the risk of developing type 1 diabetes or the immune attack that precedes it, compared with those whose microbiomes continued to mature.

The findings, published in Nature Metabolism, also showed that genetics influenced how strongly some microbiome patterns were associated with disease risk.

Type 1 diabetes affects more than 9 million people worldwide, including 1.8 million children and adolescents.

"Understanding the role of microbiome development in diabetes progression could lead to early prediction and prevention strategies, giving us more options to delay or even prevent the clinical manifestation of this disease," said co-corresponding author Daniel Wang, associate scientist with the Channing Division of Network Medicine in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine.

Study Tracked Children From Early Life

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The longitudinal observational TEDDY Study followed 887 children at high genetic risk of type 1 diabetes and analyzed more than 12,000 stool samples collected during their first six years.

Participants came from Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United States.

Because the immune system can attack insulin-producing cells years before symptoms appear, researchers counted both the first detection of this immune attack and a clinical diagnosis as disease-related outcomes.

They identified three microbiome development patterns: early-matured, late-matured and early-plateaued.

Children with early-matured microbiomes developed greater bacterial diversity during their first year. Those with late-matured microbiomes started more slowly but eventually caught up.

The early-plateaued group showed slow development that failed to catch up, with low bacterial diversity persisting through the first three years.

Early Plateau Linked To Higher Risk

Children with an early-plateaued microbiome had about three times the risk of developing type 1 diabetes or its preceding immune attack.

The association was also seen when the researchers analyzed the immune stage and clinical diagnosis separately.

The finding emerged from repeated stool sampling over time, suggesting a single microbiome snapshot could have missed the association.

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Microbiome Reflected Dietary Changes

The bacterial differences also reflected how the children's microbiomes adapted as their diets changed.

In the early-matured group, bacteria shifted sooner from milk-adapted species such as Bifidobacterium toward bacteria that break down dietary fiber.

In the early-plateaued group, the microbiome remained more focused on digesting milk sugars even after solid foods were introduced and relied on a narrower range of bacterial species.

Genetics Also Played a Role

Lead author Danyue Dong, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Mass General Brigham shared that "genetic background" can also influence the risk. Dong noted that combining microbiome and genetic information gives a more accurate picture.

"By analyzing interactions between the microbiome and host genetics, we found genetic variants, particularly those involved in antimicrobial and antiviral immune responses, that shaped how strongly the late-matured pattern was related to disease risk. The early-plateaued pattern, by contrast, carried higher risk regardless of genetic background," the expert said.

What It Means for Prevention

The study was observational, so it cannot establish that microbiome changes cause type 1 diabetes. Clinical trials are needed to determine whether modifying the microbiome can reduce disease risk.

The findings also came from children already at high genetic risk, meaning they may not apply to the general population.

Researchers say future pediatric care could potentially include microbiome testing during the first years of life. However, approaches such as dietary supplements would need to prove effective in clinical trials before being used for prevention.