Womb News and Research

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The womb is the small, hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman's pelvis. This is the organ in which a baby grows. Also called uterus.

Study: Incidence of fetal growth restriction is lower in obese women

Obesity during pregnancy puts women at higher risk of a multitude of challenges. But, according to a new study presented earlier this month at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine annual convention, fetal growth restriction, or the poor growth of a baby while in the mother's womb, is not one of them. In fact, study authors from the University of Rochester Medical Center found that the incidence of fetal growth restriction was lower in obese women when compared to non-obese women.

30 Apr 2012

Amniotic membrane transplantation prevents blindness in patients with SJS

Transplanting tissue from newborn fetal membranes prevents blindness in patients with a devastating disease called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a Loyola University Medical Center study has found.

27 Apr 2012

Gestational diabetes on the rise

Although the disease usually goes away after delivery, it can have permanent consequences. Not only can the mother be prone to develop diabetes later in life, but their babies are also at greater risk for chronic health problems.

16 Apr 2012

Scientists identify which T. gondii strains are linked with severe illness in U.S. infants

Scientists have identified which strains of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, the cause of toxoplasmosis, are most strongly associated with premature births and severe birth defects in the United States.

16 Apr 2012

Eggs developed from stem cells could change reproductive technology

Scientists have developed human egg cells that have been grown entirely in the laboratory from stem cells. These could be fertilized later this year in a development that will revolutionize fertility treatment and might even lead to a reversal of the menopause in older women.

9 Apr 2012

Delegates at 126th IPU Assembly in Uganda focus on child, maternal health

"Over 600 parliamentarians from more than 100 countries" met in Kampala, Uganda, this week for the 126th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, where participants discussed child and maternal health and nutrition, UNICEF reports in a news article.

7 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: An 'easy' SCOTUS case?; Is painkiller addiction really an epidemic?

Nothing in the Supreme Court arguments in the health care case last week, or in the subsequent commentary, has changed my opinion that this is an easy case. It's the court that made it look hard (Linda Greenhouse, 4/4).

7 Apr 2012

Uterine cancer up by 43% in UK over last two decades

Figures show that the number of diagnoses remained static for many years, but has increased by 43% since the 1990s. As the number of womb cancer cases have increased over the last decade, so have the number of womb cancer deaths. However, survival has also improved during that period, with 77% of women who are diagnosed with womb cancer now surviving for five years or more.

5 Apr 2012

Uterine cancer deaths rise 20% in the last decade

Deaths from womb (uterine) cancer have risen by nearly twenty per cent in the last decade, according to new figures from Cancer Research UK today.

5 Apr 2012

Women with IBS more likely to suffer from ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages

A study by researchers at University College Cork, Ireland and the University of Manchester, UK suggests that women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome are more likely to suffer from miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.

4 Apr 2012

Moderate caloric intake may reduce risk of obesity in low-birth weight offspring

Babies who are born small have a tendency to put on weight during childhood and adolescence if allowed free access to calories. However, a new animal model study at UCLA found when small babies were placed on a diet of moderately regulated calories during infancy, the propensity of becoming obese decreased.

3 Apr 2012

Genetic variations could be linked with meconium ileus in CF patients

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers working as part of the International Cystic Fibrosis Consortium have discovered several regions of the genome that may predispose cystic fibrosis (CF) patients to develop an intestinal blockage while still in the uterus.

2 Apr 2012

Birth weight may identify future metabolic risks in girls

Heavier female babies are more likely to develop diabetes and related metabolic risks when they grow up compared with their male counterparts, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

30 Mar 2012

New analytical method predicts maturity in premature infants

Late gestation is a busy time for babies getting ready for life outside the womb, particularly for functions critical to life such as breathing and maintaining an adequate heartbeat. These two functions are connected in mature infants and healthy people throughout life, so measuring their level of connectedness can give doctors a cue about whether an infant is ready to head home or needs to remain in the care of the neonatal intensive care unit.

27 Mar 2012

Early growth predicts strength of the hip bone in childhood

Researchers from the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, have presented evidence that early growth predicts the size, mineralisation, shape and strength of the hip bone in childhood.

26 Mar 2012

Investigators identify proteins that may indicate fetus at risk for UTI-induced prematurity

Investigators in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital have developed a mouse model in which a mother's urinary tract infection negatively affects the offspring, an occurrence anecdotally observed in humans. Using this first-of-its-kind model, they have identified proteins in the blood that may indicate whether such an infection might stunt fetal growth.

23 Mar 2012

Obesity gene mutation identified in mice

A new study has found why a mutation in a particular gene can lead to obesity. Mouse experiments suggested the body's message to “stop eating” was blocked if the animals had the mutation. The study, published in Nature Medicine, said the brain's response to appetite hormones was being disrupted.

20 Mar 2012

Mobile phone exposure in unborn mice raises risk of behavioral and memory disorders

A new study has shown that unborn mice exposed to mobile phone radiation became hyperactive adults with poor memory. But scientists have added that the findings cannot be translated to humans.

18 Mar 2012

Exposure to radiation from cell phones during pregnancy affects brain development of offspring

Exposure to radiation from cell phones during pregnancy affects the brain development of offspring, potentially leading to hyperactivity, Yale School of Medicine researchers have determined.

16 Mar 2012

Bayer HealthCare receives FDA approval for Natazia to treat HMB

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new indication for Natazia (estradiol valerate and estradiol valerate/dienogest) tablets for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) that is not caused by any diagnosed conditions of the uterus (womb), in women who choose an oral contraceptive (OC) for contraception.

15 Mar 2012