Children & Families

Despite Wendy Davis' filibuster, Texas lawmakers passed strict new abortion regulations in 2013. Here's what one reporter on the front lines learned from covering the changing landscape of women’s health and abortion in the Lone Star State.

Women's and Maternal Health, Poverty and Class

Southern California's Orange County has a reputation as an affluent playground, making the county's food insecurity stats all the more surprising. That kind of juxtaposition between a locale's perception and reality can make for powerful stories that grab audiences and start conversations.

Environmental Health, Poverty and Class

So much crucial brain development occurs in the first three years of life that one researcher jokes that to him and his colleagues, 3-year-olds are practically middle aged. And yet,the first three years of life often get comparatively little attention in mental health or education policies

Mental Health

Awareness of just how damaging toxic stress and childhood adversity can be for a child's health and life prospects is growing. While leading experts call for bold new treatments, what approaches are already showing promise in reversing the effects on young bodies and minds?

Chronic Disease

One of the recurring themes in early childhood research is that early is rarely early enough. Positive back-and-forth interactions between kids and caregivers are key to building budding brains, while their absence can lead to kids who suffer the longterm effects of what experts call "toxic stress."

Environmental Health

A reporting trip that set out to investigate the causes behind a mysterious childhood cancer cluster turned into a valuable lesson in embracing a truer kind of complexity — not the twists and turns of a mystery novel’s plot, but the unpredictable emotions that guide real people’s lives.

Environmental Health, Poverty and Class

When I tackled the topic of loneliness as a 2013 National Health Journalism Fellowship project, I honestly didn't think it would be hard to find people who were lonely so that I could write about the issue. I was right and wrong.

Aging, Mental Health, Environmental Health

Has your child has his tonsils removed or head scanned lately? Whether or not you said yes may have something to do with where you call home. That variation in care is raising some red flags.

Environmental Health