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Topics: Family issues

  • Researchers used eye movement measurements, filming children’s eyes and using an algorithm to calculate where the child was looking.

    Babies follow social cues despite trauma

    Babies living as refugees have some of the same social skills as children with more secure home conditions. This is shown by a new study that researchers from Uppsala University have conducted in cooperation with colleagues in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Bhutan. Over 800 children participated in the study, making it one of the largest infant studies ever conducted using eye movement measurements.

  • Our study shows that it may be that some women simply do not want to have children, says Cerisa Obern, intern physician and doctoral student at Uppsala university. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt

    New study: Fewer women want to have children

    More and more young women are hesitant about having children. New research from Uppsala University shows that one in four are either unsure about or do not want to have children at all – a big increase compared to 2014, when only one in ten felt this way. The same study also shows that fewer are using condoms and that a large proportion perceived consent when sexual activity was initiated.

  • Therese Johansson, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology and WOMHER

    Different menopausal hormone treatments pose different risks

    Researchers have analysed the effects of seven different hormone treatments for menopausal symptoms, and the risk of blood clots, stroke and heart attack. The risks differ depending on the active substance and how the medicine is taken. The study involves around one million women aged 50-58 and is the largest and most comprehensive study of currently prescribed hormonal substances in the world.

  • The results show that the prevalence of overweight or obesity has now fallen to the same levels as before the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. 11.4%. During the pandemic, the prevalence was 13.3 per cent.

    Childhood overweight is associated with socio-economic vulnerability

    More children have overweight in regions with high rates of single parenthood, low education levels, low income and high child poverty. The pandemic may also have reinforced this trend. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University and Region Sörmland in collaboration with Region Skåne.

  • From the book "Blå ugglan" by Lotta Geffenblad (2023) with permission. Image: Lotta Geffenblad

    Death and grief in Swedish children’s books

    Death is blue, or a flying animal. This is how death is most commonly illustrated in Swedish children’s literature, according to a new study from Uppsala University based on analyses of 62 books. Just six out of ten books use the word ‘dead’, which may be a problem.

  • New study links contraceptive pills and depression

    Women who used combined contraceptive pills were at greater risk of developing depression than women who did not, according to a new study. The pills increased women’s risk by 73 per cent during the first two years of use. “Since we only investigated combined contraceptive pills in this study, we cannot draw conclusions about other contraceptive options", says leading researcher Uppsala University

  • Early tastings shorten breastfeeding

    The earlier infants begin to taste small samples of solid food, the earlier they eat more food and stop breastfeeding. This is shown in a new study from Uppsala University and Sophiahemmet University, in which the mothers of 1,251 infants from all over Sweden participated. Almost half of the infants received tastings at the age of four months.

  • The vulnerability of surrogate mothers in a global market

    A new dissertation on surrogacy highlights Thai women's experiences of having acted as surrogate mothers. The dissertation shows the women's vulnerability in a global surrogacy industry, but also provides a more nuanced picture of what makes women seek surrogacy and how they relate to the process.

  • Small measures can be a big help for children of mothers with depression

    Small measures can be a big help for children of mothers with depression

    Several new studies among Syrian refugee families in Turkey and families with infants in Sweden and Bhutan show that children of mothers in poor mental health risk falling behind in their cognitive development. However, very small changes can suffice to break this correlation and enable the children to return to their normal developmental level. The solutions where the same in all three countries

  • Fifty–fifty split best for children of divorce

    Preschool children in joint physical custody have less psychological symptoms than those who live mostly or only with one parent after a separation. That shows a new Swedish study of 3,656 children, done by researchers from Uppsala University, Karolinska Institutet and the research institute CHESS, which is now published in Acta Pædiatrica.

  • Uppsala Health Summit 11-12 October: Pre-conference report

    A report has been released for the upcoming Uppsala Health Summit on ending childhood obesity, outlining the challenges, including the effectiveness of the much debated sugar-tax, how to target interventions for immigrants and the role of industry. The report is produced to prepare the 200 delegates for discussions on concrete solutions.