Conception News and Research

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Babies of obese mothers have higher risk of some birth defects

Compared to normal-weight women, overweight and obese women suffer more pregnancy complications and their babies have more medical problems at birth, according to a position paper of the Public Affairs Committee of the Teratology Society.

5 Feb 2006

Pregnancy does not provide protection against depression

Pregnancy has historically been described as a time of emotional well-being, providing "protection" against psychiatric disorder, but a new study says the hormonal changes which occur during pregnancy do not protect women from depression, and those taking antidepressants may need to continue despite concerns about fetal damage.

2 Feb 2006

8 million children born every year with serious birth defects

According to a new report, every year an estimated 8 million children are born with a serious birth defect of genetic or partially genetic origin.

31 Jan 2006

Enter Prince Charles! into the obesity debate

Prince Charles has entered the obesity debate and has cautioned the British public against becoming like the 'super size' Americans.

29 Jan 2006

Armpit odour can make apparent women’s fertility

Research published in the recent issue of Ethology has discovered that men are able to potentially use smell as a mechanism to establish when their current or prospective sexual partners are at their most fertile.

16 Jan 2006

Genetics play a part in the inability to stop caffeine use

A study led by Johns Hopkins investigators has shown that women with a serious caffeine habit and a family history of alcohol abuse are more likely to ignore advice to stop using caffeine during pregnancy.

5 Dec 2005

Brains of babies born very prematurely do not develop as well as those who are carried to full-term

"We found that in very premature babies, a part of the brain doesn't show normal growth after birth, and in fact some parts of the brain didn't change at all from the day the babies were born until they reached what would have been a full-term birth date."

20 Nov 2005

Testicular cancer survivors can still have children

The overall rate of fatherhood after treatment for testicular cancer is high, but the ability to conceive and the time to conception are influenced by the type and intensity of treatment, according to a new study in the November 2 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

3 Nov 2005

Growth patterns before birth, after birth and into childhood reveal a risk of coronary heart disease later in life

The risk of developing coronary heart disease as an adult is more strongly related to childhood growth patterns than body weight at any particular point in development, according to a new study published in the Oct. 27 New England Journal of Medicine. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

27 Oct 2005

IVF gives women false expectations

Experts are warning that women are risking their chances of having children because they are delaying motherhood on the basis of "false expectations" about the success of IVF treatment.

20 Oct 2005

Fertility treatment most successful in summer

When it comes to considering fertility treatment, scientists say that women who have the treatment during the summer are twice as likely to become pregnant as those who have it in the winter.

19 Oct 2005

Study of the molecular mechanism involved in the human implantation process

In spite of advances in assisted reproductive technologies, more than 6.1 million women in the United States - roughly 20 percent of all women of reproductive age - suffer from infertility.

17 Oct 2005

Isotretinoin-related birth defects

Isotretinoin (also known as Accutane) is a drug used to treat severe acne, but it can cause birth defects when taken by pregnant women. Because of these risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Roche Pharmaceuticals (Accutane's manufacturer) developed a voluntary pregnancy prevention program (PPP) in 1988 to try and prevent conception in women taking the drug.

16 Oct 2005

High blood glucose levels early in pregnancy deprive the embryo of oxygen

The babies of women with diabetes are two to five times more likely to develop birth defects than offspring of women without the disease.

4 Oct 2005

Effects of anticonvulsants on women

The Epilepsy Foundation has issued a Call to Action to women of childbearing age who take anticonvulsant medications for conditions that include epilepsy, migraine headaches, and certain psychiatric disorders, urging them to talk to their healthcare providers about treatment options.

4 Oct 2005

Survey highlights the need to increase folic acid fortification of the grain supply

Only one-third of childbearing age women are taking a multivitamin containing the B vitamin folic acid daily to prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine in their future babies, according to a decade of March of Dimes surveys.

3 Oct 2005

New centre to advance child health research

The Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Institute of Child Health (ICH) at UCL (University College London) have announced a partnership to establish a centre for research to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting children's health, and to promote their health and well-being.

27 Sep 2005