Amniotic Fluid News and Research

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Tiny lab-grown structures that resemble amniotic sac may help in infertility research

The first few weeks after sperm meets egg still hold many mysteries. Among them: what causes the process to fail, leading to many cases of infertility.

8 Aug 2017

Maternal consumption of artificially sweetened beverages during pregnancy linked to obesity in children

Children born to women who had gestational diabetes and drank at least one artificially sweetened beverage per day during pregnancy were more likely to be overweight or obese at age 7, compared to children born to women who had gestational diabetes and drank water instead of artificially sweetened beverages, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

6 Jun 2017

Long-term stress for the mother can influence growth of unborn child through amniotic fluid

The feeling of constantly being on edge, always having to take care of everything, not being able to find a balance: If an expectant mother is strongly stressed over a longer period of time, the risk of the unborn child developing a mental or physical illness later in life - such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or cardiovascular disease - increases.

30 May 2017

Physical stress to mother during pregnancy can influence growth of unborn child

If the mother is stressed over a longer period of time during pregnancy, the concentration of stress hormones in amniotic fluid rises, as proven by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Zurich. Short-term stress situations, however, do not seem to have an unfavorable effect on the development of the fetus.

29 May 2017

Study suggests Zika virus poses wider threat in human pregnancies

Zika virus infection passes efficiently from a pregnant monkey to its fetus, spreading inflammatory damage throughout the tissues that support the fetus and the fetus's developing nervous system, and suggesting a wider threat in human pregnancies than generally appreciated.

25 May 2017

Pediatric cardiology expert advises pregnant women to ask three questions about fetal ultrasounds

For pregnant women, it is standard practice to get a general fetal ultrasound between 18 to 22 weeks of pregnancy. Ultrasound scans, which use high-frequency sound waves to show images of the fetus, placenta and amniotic fluid, help the doctor see how the baby is developing and detect possible birth defects.

5 May 2017

Artificial womb could improve survival among premature babies

Researchers have designed a womb-like device that could allow premature babies to develop their lungs and organs in the critical few weeks that remain before they face the outside world.

26 Apr 2017

Exposure to EDCs alters thyroid hormone signalling, early brain development in frog embryos

Findings published today provide evidence that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) causes changes in thyroid hormone signalling, which disturbs brain development.

13 Mar 2017

Fetal genomic sequencing could enhance detection rate of genetic findings, study shows

In a study to be presented Thursday, Jan. 26, in the oral plenary session at 8 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, researchers with the Columbia University Medical Center in New York found that, in preliminary data, fetal genomic (whole exome) sequencing (WES) as a diagnostic test for women with pregnancies complicated by major fetal congenital anomalies increased the detection rate of genetic findings by between 10 to 30 percent.

23 Jan 2017

Archaeologist discovers 800-year-old genomes from bacterial infection in Byzantine skeleton

Eight hundred years ago, in a hardscrabble farming community on the outskirts of what was once one of the fabled cities of the ancient world, Troy, a 30-year-old woman was laid to rest in a stone-lined grave.

10 Jan 2017

Japanese researchers discover new method for predicting congenital CMV infection in fetuses

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can cause serious complications such as hearing difficulties and mental retardation in affected infants.

25 Nov 2016

Study offers promise for therapeutic management of fetal and congenital genetic diseases in utero

A breakthrough study by research teams at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and Oregon Health & Science University offers promise for therapeutic management of congenital diseases in utero using designer nucleotide sequences that can simply be injected into the fluid surrounding the developing fetus to potentially treat disabling-to-lethal genetic defects.

7 Oct 2016

Harvard symposium highlights health impact of gut microbiota and probiotics throughout lifespan

Danone Nutricia Research, one of the key sponsors of the September 15th and 16th Harvard Medical School Division of Nutrition symposium on gut microbiota, probiotics and their impact throughout the lifespan, announces its continued support of research in the emerging field of the microbiome and its interactions with body functions.

30 Sep 2016

Disordered airway microbiome at birth may be linked to severe neonatal lung disease

In contrast to the general belief that the airways of an infant are sterile until after birth, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and colleagues have found that the infant airway is already colonized with bacteria or bacterial DNA when a baby is born -- and this is true for infants born as early as 24 weeks gestation.

5 Aug 2016

HSS researchers launch new study to find if stem cell treatment could help people with knee arthritis

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have launched a study to determine if a treatment using stem cells could help people with painful knee arthritis.

21 Jul 2016

New research holds potential to improve fetal surgery outcomes

University of California, Berkeley engineer Phillip Messersmith is happy to be learning lessons from a lowly mollusk, with the expectation that the knowledge gained will enable him and fellow physicians to prevent deaths among their youngest patients -- those who haven't been born yet.

4 Jul 2016

Study to evaluate magnitude of health risks caused by Zika virus in pregnant women, infants

The National Institutes of Health and Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, a national scientific research organization linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, have begun a multi-country study to evaluate the magnitude of health risks that Zika virus infection poses to pregnant women and their developing fetuses and infants.

22 Jun 2016

Embryos with abnormalities in initial stages of pregnancy may grow into healthy babies

Abnormal cells in the early embryo are not necessarily a sign that a baby will be born with a birth defect such as Down's syndrome, suggests new research carried out in mice at the University of Cambridge. In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, scientists show that abnormal cells are eliminated and replaced by healthy cells, repairing - and in many cases completely fixing - the embryo.

29 Mar 2016

Higher levels of BPA in pregnant mother's blood may contribute to preterm births

Higher concentrations of the common plastics chemical and environmental pollutant Bisphenol A, or BPA, in a pregnant mother's blood may be a contributing factor in preterm births, according to a new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

25 Mar 2016

Zika virus can cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women, study finds

New research presents strong evidence that the Zika virus can indeed cause a range of abnormalities in pregnant women infected with the virus -- with the effects manifesting any time during pregnancy. Some of the abnormalities noted have not been reported in connection with the virus.

7 Mar 2016