Birth Weight News and Research

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Growth genes seem different in Hunger Winter children

Individuals conceived in the severe Dutch Famine, also called the Hunger Winter, may have adjusted to this horrendous period of World War II by making adaptations to how active their DNA is. Genes involved in growth and development were differentially regulated, according to researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center, Harvard University, and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

5 Dec 2014

New study finds link between birth weights and academic performance in school

It's no secret that low-birth-weight babies face significantly greater risks for certain health problems early on, such as respiratory distress or infection. Now, a new study from researchers at the University of Florida and Northwestern University shows that lower weights at birth also have an adverse effect on children's performance in school, which is likely due to the early health struggles small babies often face.

5 Dec 2014

Study: Heavier newborns do better in school

Birth weight makes a difference to a child's future academic performance, according to new Northwestern University research that found heavier newborns do better in elementary and middle school than infants with lower birth weights.

2 Dec 2014

Co-enzyme Q supplement lowers age-associated damage that leads to heart disease

New research involving rats, and published in the December 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that if you were born at a low birth weight, supplemental co-enzyme Q (CoQ) may lower your risk for heart disease.

2 Dec 2014

Taking folic acid supplementation before conception reduces risk of SGA at birth

Taking folic acid before conception significantly reduces the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) at birth, suggests a new study published today (26 November) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

26 Nov 2014

Snus consumption in Norway is highest among young people

The increase in Scandinavian snus consumption in Norway is highest among young people, according to a new report from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

21 Nov 2014

Three-drug regimen taken during pregnancy prevents mother-to-child HIV transmission

For HIV-infected women in good immune health, taking a three-drug regimen during pregnancy prevents mother-to-child HIV transmission more effectively than taking one drug during pregnancy, another during labor and two more after giving birth, an international clinical trial has found.

19 Nov 2014

Exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy increases obesity risk in children

A study just released by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that children who were exposed to antibiotics in the second or third trimester of pregnancy had a higher risk of childhood obesity at age 7. The research also showed that for mothers who delivered their babies by a Caesarean section, whether elective or non-elective, there was a higher risk for obesity in their offspring.

19 Nov 2014

Preterm birth becomes world's number one killer of young children

For the first time in history, the complications of preterm birth outrank all other causes as the world's number one killer of young children.

17 Nov 2014

'Mentor Mothers' program improves perinatal health outcomes in South Africa

The incidence of HIV infection in South Africa tops that of any nation in the world, with some 6 million of the country's nearly 50 million residents infected. Sadly, young women — and particularly young pregnant women — suffer some of the highest rates of HIV infection. More than one-fourth of pregnant South African women are infected with the virus; in some communities, the infection rates are even higher.

30 Oct 2014

Maternal nutrition before conception important to improve offspring’s health, say researchers

Researchers from the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, believe the key to making future generations healthier could lie before the mother becomes pregnant.

21 Oct 2014

SSEF protocol reduces incidence of NEC or death in infants with extremely low birth weight

A standardized slow enteral feeding (SSEF) protocol significantly reduces the incidence of necrotizing enterocoltis (NEC), or death of intestinal tissue, and death in infants with extremely low birth weight, according to a new study.

15 Oct 2014

Simple interventions can help prevent high birth weights in newborns, say scientists

In a study that followed more than 2,200 obese women during pregnancy, scientists affiliated with Professor Jodie Dodd from the University of Adelaide, Australia found that some simple interventions can help prevent high birth weights in newborns.

7 Oct 2014

Researchers say that environment plays much stronger role than genetics in eosinophilic esophagitis

Researchers have found that environment has a much stronger role than genetics in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a severe, often painful food allergy that renders children unable to eat a wide variety of foods.

23 Sep 2014

Improvements in NICU nursing care could boost health outcomes for underweight black infants

The health outcomes and quality of care for underweight black infants could greatly improve with more nurses on staff at hospitals with higher concentrations of black patients, according to a new study co-led by a Rutgers researcher.

22 Sep 2014

Birth weight measurements can be used to predict lung function during late teenage years

A new study has found that factors, such as birth weight, gestational age at birth and lung function, growth and other measures at 8 years, can be used to predict lung function during mid to late teenage years.

9 Sep 2014

Study establishes significant link between residential greenness, birth outcomes

Mothers who live in neighborhoods with plenty of grass, trees or other green vegetation are more likely to deliver at full term and their babies are born at higher weights, compared to mothers who live in urban areas that aren't as green, a new study shows.

5 Sep 2014

Study: Low birth weight may put African American women at higher risk for type 2 diabetes

African American women born at a low or very low birth weight may be at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The findings, which appear in Diabetes Care, may explain in part the higher occurrence of type 2 diabetes in African American populations, which has a high prevalence of low birth weight.

22 Aug 2014

Human milk diet protects intestines and supports growth of premature infants

For premature infants, adequate growth while in the neonatal intensive care unit is an indicator of better long-term health and developmental outcomes.

18 Aug 2014

Research hopes to protect hundreds of newborns from severe health problems by protein in milk

An international effort led by the University of Sydney hopes to protect hundreds of Bangladeshi newborns from a host of severe health problems by assessing the effect of lactoferrin, a natural protein found in breast and cow's milk, in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy.

13 Aug 2014