Sundbakk LM, et al. - In view of the observation that pharmacological treatment with benzodiazepines (BZDs) or z-hypnotics is required in many women experiencing anxiety or sleep disorders during pregnancy, researchers examined the influence of prenatal exposure to these medications on behavioral problems in children over the long term. Using the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study and The Medical Birth Registry of Norway, they performed this large prospective follow-up study of 36,401 pregnancies. Five-year-old children born to mothers that used BZDs and/or z-hypnotics during pregnancy exhibited a modestly increased risk of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. For externalizing problems vs internalizing problems, somewhat larger effect size was noted.