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.

Avoidance of routine thyroid testing on pregnant women would have let 80% of cases go undetected

A recent study completed by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) demonstrates that BMC conducts a high rate of thyroid function testing in pregnant women.

1 Jul 2011

BPA “de-masculinizes” male mice: Study

Laboratory studies have shown that male mice who are exposed in the womb to bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical compound found in some hard plastics and can linings, appear to be less masculine and less attractive to females once they mature. This raises controversies that human boys could be similarly affected. The findings were published Monday on the website of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

28 Jun 2011

More frequent use of ultrasound recommended in twin pregnancies

Featured in the June edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada is a new clinical practice guideline which suggests that carrying twins requires greater monitoring and, therefore, the more frequent use of ultrasound technology to conduct the ongoing assessment of twin pregnancies.

23 Jun 2011

Maternal smoking 'imprints' unhealthy set of characteristics on unborn babies

Researchers in Australia have discovered that mothers who smoke during pregnancy are causing developmental changes to their unborn babies that lead to them having lower levels of the type of cholesterol that is known to protect against heart disease in later life - high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

22 Jun 2011

Smoking during pregnancy lowers offspring's HDL cholesterol, greater risk of heart disease later

Scientists said on Tuesday that mothers who smoke while pregnant are causing changes to their unborn babies that can lead them to have less of a type of cholesterol known to protect against heart disease.

22 Jun 2011

Miracle cures on the horizon for genetic disease

In a latest break through, scientists have found a new technique to alter the genetic code behind hundreds of diseases and this was hailed by U.S. scientists as a “miracle of modern medicine.” Genes responsible for devastating diseases can be corrected by controlling faulty messenger cells that are central to the body's protein production, researchers said Wednesday.

17 Jun 2011

Unprescribed methods to bring on labor may not be effective

More than half of the women in a recently published survey reported that near the end of their pregnancies, they took it upon themselves to try to induce labor, mostly by walking, having sex, eating spicy food or stimulating their nipples.

17 Jun 2011

Food coloring additives do not cause ADHD in children

When University of Maryland psychologist Andrea Chronis-Tuscano testified before a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing last March, it changed her mind about possible risks of artificial food coloring for children, and drove her to look more closely at the products in her own pantry that she feeds her kids.

15 Jun 2011

Poor maternal nutrition predisposes offspring to type 2 diabetes

A new study published by the American Physiological Society offers the strongest evidence yet that vulnerability to type 2 diabetes can begin in the womb, giving new insight into the mechanisms that underlie a potentially devastating disease at the center of a worldwide epidemic.

14 Jun 2011

Mother to donate her womb to daughter

A 56-year-old mother hopes to become the first woman to have her womb transplanted into her daughter. Eva Ottoson who lives in Nottinghamshire has agreed to take part in the medical procedure that would see her donate her uterus to her daughter.

13 Jun 2011

BPA affects development of uterus in female primates

Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical widely used in the food and medical industries, causes changes in female primates' uterus development, new research suggests. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

8 Jun 2011

Caffeine reduces muscle activity in Fallopian tubes

Caffeine reduces muscle activity in the Fallopian tubes that carry eggs from a woman's ovaries to her womb. "Our experiments were conducted in mice, but this finding goes a long way towards explaining why drinking caffeinated drinks can reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant," says Professor Sean Ward from the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, USA. Ward's study is published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology

24 May 2011

VIDAS TOXO IgG Avidity assay to test for recent Toxoplasma gondii infection receives FDA clearance

On May 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the first test to help determine whether a pregnant woman or a person with swollen lymph nodes testing positive for toxoplasmosis, sometimes known as cat scratch disease, developed the infection within the past four months.

20 May 2011

Long ring finger linked to Lou Gehrig’s disease

In some of the latest studies it has been found that finger length could be linked to various traits in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. These people tend to have longer ring fingers, compared with their index fingers, than do people without the disease.

11 May 2011

ADHD in children linked to stress and depression during pregnancy

According to the latest research women who are depressed or severely stressed during their pregnancy have a greater chance of having children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It has been known till now that ADHD is largely inheritable but now it comes out that antenatal anxiety could contribute to 15 per cent of cases of the behavioural condition in children.

8 May 2011

Number of stressful events experienced during pregnancy linked to child behaviour outcomes

Research from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has found a link between the number of stressful events experienced during pregnancy and increased risk of behavioural problems in children.

21 Apr 2011

Blood test can predict pre-term births during second trimester

Though more than one in 10 American babies are born prematurely, there have been few clues to predict whether a particular baby is going to arrive too early - until now.

19 Apr 2011

Mother's diet during pregnancy can influence child's risk of obesity

Scientists have discovered that a mother's nutrition during pregnancy can strongly influence her child's risk of obesity many years later.

19 Apr 2011

First ever genome scan for womb cancer reveals genetic region that reduces risk of the disease

Scientists have carried out the first ever genome scan for womb cancer and discovered a genetic region that reduces risk of the disease, according to a study published in Nature Genetics.

18 Apr 2011

Scientists to discuss innovative technologies at UMDNJ Symposium

Advances in technology have accelerated the effectiveness of scientific and medical research, producing rapid advances that were unthinkable even a decade ago. At its Third Annual Inter-School Technology Symposium, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey will bring together scientists from throughout the University who are at the forefront of this revolution.

11 Apr 2011