Prenatal News and Research

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Stress during pregnancy can increase baby’s risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, shows that passively coping offspring of mothers stressed during their pregnancy were at risk to develop obesity and type 2 diabetes.

30 Jul 2013

Graduate student receives NIH fellowship of more than $90,000 to study e-cigarette use

Ever since e-cigarettes hit the market in 2004, they have been advertised as an aid for cigarette smoking cessation. The aerosols produced by e-cigarettes, however, have yet to be screened for potential health risks.

30 Jul 2013

Researchers to study knowledge and satisfaction of women who choose DNA prenatal screening test

A recently available DNA-based prenatal blood test used to screen pregnancies for Down syndrome and similar chromosome abnormalities in high-risk women is moving a step closer to use in the general pregnancy population.

From Natera 25 Jul 2013

Research: No association between pre-natal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors

The potential impact of exposure to low levels of mercury on the developing brain - specifically by women consuming fish during pregnancy - has long been the source of concern and some have argued that the chemical may be responsible for behavioral disorders such as autism.

24 Jul 2013

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has detrimental effects on fetal central nervous development

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy has detrimental effects on fetal central nervous system development. Maternal alcohol consumption prior to and during pregnancy significantly affects cognitive functions in offspring, which may be related to changes in cyclin-dependent kinase 5 because it is associated with modulation of synaptic plasticity and impaired learning and memory.

20 Jul 2013

Choline consumption improves long-term memory and attention-holding capacity

An experimental study in rats has shown that consuming choline, a vitamin B group nutrient found in foodstuffs like eggs and chicken or beef liver, soy and wheat germ, helps improve long-term memory and attention-holding capacity.

12 Jul 2013

Researchers develop new cry analyzer to look for clues about baby's health

To parents, a baby's cry is a signal of hunger, pain, or discomfort. But to scientists, subtle acoustic features of a cry, many of them imperceptible to the human ear, can hold important information about a baby's health.

12 Jul 2013

Researchers identify risk factor for maternal antibody-related autism in subset of children

Researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute have found that prenatal exposure to specific combinations of antibodies found only in mothers of children with autism leads to changes in the brain that adversely affect behavior and development.

10 Jul 2013

Weekend reading: Taking stock of your body; A designer seeks to improve health care; A researcher's quest to lower suicide rates

Today, I've been on the phone four times, for an average of 24 minutes a call. My last phone call was 22 minutes 23 seconds long, according to the digital time device on my landline. It took me exactly 45 minutes and 10 seconds on the train to reach Brooklyn the other night: I counted the seconds off on my smart phone. My average mile when I ran 5K yesterday was 8 minutes and 45 seconds that showed up on the pedometer. (Nothing to boast about, I know.) ... I am able to hold my plank at the gym for 54 seconds rather than the minute I always thought I could, which I know thanks to my phone's stopwatch. My optimal sleep time is seven hours and 20 minutes and I wake up twice a night: I discovered that from a wristband that measures sleep duration and intensity.

4 Jul 2013

State highlights: Calif. bill to fine firms with workers on Medi-Cal fails; Pa. eyes disallowing apologies used against doctors in court-proceedings

A California proposal to fine large companies that have workers on Medi-Cal came up short in an initial vote in the Assembly amid strong business opposition. The proposed fines could reach about $5,000 per full-time employee who receives Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program for the poor. The bill, AB 880, garnered 46 votes in the 80-member chamber Thursday, short of the 54 votes, or two-thirds majority, needed. The measure could come up for reconsideration as early as next week (Terhune, 6/27).

2 Jul 2013

Teva signs agreement with Verinata Health for commercialization of verifi prenatal test in Israel

Illumina, Inc. today announced that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. signed an exclusive agreement with Verinata Health, an Illumina company, for the commercialization of the verifi non-invasive prenatal test in Israel.

1 Jul 2013

Administering immunoglobulins to pregnant women may prevent Rh blood disorder in newborns

Swedish researchers determined that administering anti-D antibodies (immunoglobulins) to pregnant women who were Rhesus D (RhD) negative could prevent hemolytic disease in the infant.

27 Jun 2013

New study explains how the brain maintains zinc balance during embryonic development

A new study helps explain how parts of the brain maintain their delicate balance of zinc, an element required in minute but crucial doses, particularly during embryonic development.

27 Jun 2013

Combination of better healthcare and community awareness improves maternal and newborn care

A five-year programme that mobilised communities to improve the quality of care for mothers and newborns reduced newborn mortality by 30 percent and saved at least 1,000 newborn lives in rural Malawi.

25 Jun 2013

Research: Fetal exposure to BPA causes inflammation in fat tissues after birth

New research suggests that fetal exposure to the common environmental chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, causes increased inflammation in fat tissues after birth, which can lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Results of the animal study were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

19 Jun 2013

HIV prevention programs for female sex workers in India reduce syphilis, HIV

HIV prevention programs for female sex workers in India reduce rates of syphilis, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a University of Toronto study has found.

17 Jun 2013

Researchers identify genetic variants that can predispose children to dyslexia, language impairment

A new study of the genetic origins of dyslexia and other learning disabilities could allow for earlier diagnoses and more successful interventions, according to researchers at Yale School of Medicine. Many students now are not diagnosed until high school, at which point treatments are less effective.

14 Jun 2013

Researchers discover TTC7A gene that causes multiple intestinal atresia in newborns

Physicians and researchers from Sherbrooke, Montreal and Quebec City have conducted a study that has led to the discovery of a gene that causes multiple intestinal atresia (MIA), a rare and life-threatening hereditary disorder that affects newborns.

12 Jun 2013

Obesity and maternal overweight during pregnancy linked to highest risk of preterm deliveries

In a study that included more than 1.5 million deliveries in Sweden, maternal overweight and obesity during pregnancy were associated with increased risk for preterm delivery, with the highest risks observed for extremely preterm deliveries, according to a study in the June 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Jun 2013

Mother's exposure to environmental contaminants associated with vigorous fetal motor activity

A study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has for the first time found that a mother's higher exposure to some common environmental contaminants was associated with more frequent and vigorous fetal motor activity.

12 Jun 2013

Prenatal News and Research

Stress during pregnancy can increase baby’s risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes

Graduate student receives NIH fellowship of more than $90,000 to study e-cigarette use

Researchers to study knowledge and satisfaction of women who choose DNA prenatal screening test

Research: No association between pre-natal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has detrimental effects on fetal central nervous development

Choline consumption improves long-term memory and attention-holding capacity

Researchers develop new cry analyzer to look for clues about baby's health

Researchers identify risk factor for maternal antibody-related autism in subset of children

Weekend reading: Taking stock of your body; A designer seeks to improve health care; A researcher's quest to lower suicide rates

State highlights: Calif. bill to fine firms with workers on Medi-Cal fails; Pa. eyes disallowing apologies used against doctors in court-proceedings

Teva signs agreement with Verinata Health for commercialization of verifi prenatal test in Israel

Administering immunoglobulins to pregnant women may prevent Rh blood disorder in newborns

New study explains how the brain maintains zinc balance during embryonic development

Combination of better healthcare and community awareness improves maternal and newborn care

Research: Fetal exposure to BPA causes inflammation in fat tissues after birth

HIV prevention programs for female sex workers in India reduce syphilis, HIV

Researchers identify genetic variants that can predispose children to dyslexia, language impairment

Researchers discover TTC7A gene that causes multiple intestinal atresia in newborns

Obesity and maternal overweight during pregnancy linked to highest risk of preterm deliveries

Mother's exposure to environmental contaminants associated with vigorous fetal motor activity

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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