Prenatal News and Research

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20.2% women in New Jersey receive delayed or no prenatal care

In releasing a new report on maternal health nationwide, Amnesty International today revealed that flaws and shocking disparities in maternal health care that the government is ignoring lead to two to three women dying daily in the United States from pregnancy-related complications, with half of these deaths believed preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A state-by-state examination shows that New Jersey is 35th on a maternal mortality ranking, with 11.3 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010

Amnesty International: New York stands 47th on maternal mortality ranking

12 Mar 2010

Amnesty International: Office of Maternal Health need to be established to reduce maternal deaths nationwide

Amnesty International called on President Obama today to quickly establish an Office of Maternal Health to lead government action to reduce soaring pregnancy-related complications and maternal deaths nationwide. The human rights organization said the government must take immediate steps to stop the loss of two to three women every day and reduce the risk of complications that now affect one-third of all pregnant women -- 1.7 million women a year.

12 Mar 2010

First use of prenatal MRI to detect often-misdiagnosed CCD

In a case believed to be a United States first, the radiology team at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital has used prenatal magnetic resonance imaging to detect an often-misdiagnosed genetic disease.

10 Mar 2010

New article sheds light on the costs and benefits of screening for SMA

Spinal Muscular Atrophy is one of many serious disorders for which prenatal testing is available. SMA affects approximately 1 in 10,000 live births and is the leading genetic cause of infant mortality and the second most common autosomal recessive disorder, after cystic fibrosis. Although the American College of Medical Genetics recommends carrier testing for all couples, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued a recommendation to the contrary, citing lack of information about the costs and benefits of screening for SMA.

9 Mar 2010

HDI announces results of Rapid Maternal Mortality and Obstetric Fistula Prevention Project

In honor of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, Health & Development International (HDI) announced the results of its Rapid Maternal Mortality and Obstetric Fistula Prevention Project today, in advance of its second hosted global meeting on this topic to be held at The Carter Center in Atlanta on March 9 and 10.

8 Mar 2010

Also in Global Health News: U.S. Ambassador to U.N.; Male circumcision; River blindness in Ecuador; Nursing shortage in Caribbean; Maternal health in Bolivia; Drug-resistant TB in North Korea; Cholera vaccine

Betty King reported to her new position as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. "Washington's Geneva mission had been without an ambassador since Warren W. Tichenor left his post on Jan. 20, 2009 - when Barack Obama was sworn in as president," according to the news service (3/3).

4 Mar 2010

Kaiser Permanente awards $500,000 grant to Community Health Alliance of Pasadena

Kaiser Permanente announced today that it is awarding a half million dollar grant to the Community Health Alliance of Pasadena to help fund the expansion of primary health care services at the Pasadena Community Care Center for residents of the San Gabriel Valley.

4 Mar 2010

Prenatal cocaine exposure affects sustained attention and self-regulated behavior in children

Children exposed to cocaine in the womb face serious consequences from the drug, but fortunately not in certain critical physical and cognitive areas as previously believed, according to a new comprehensive review of research on the subject from scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. When a pregnant woman uses cocaine, it can interrupt the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the baby, putting such children at risk for premature birth, low birth weight and many other problems.

2 Mar 2010

Determining personal risk for genetic disorders essential

Genetic diseases affect an estimated 12 million Americans, yet according to a survey of 1,000 people conducted by the Genetic Disease Foundation (GDF), while two-thirds of those surveyed were willing to and saw the benefits of undergoing genetic testing, close to 80 percent had never talked to their physician about genetic screening – an inconsistency that can have serious implications on a person's overall health and the health of their immediate family members.

1 Mar 2010

Childhood obesity prevention: Prenatal and infancy period upto age 5 crucial

Efforts to prevent childhood obesity should begin far earlier than currently thought-perhaps even before birth-especially for minority children, according to a new study that tracked 1,826 women from pregnancy through their children's first five years of life.

1 Mar 2010

Fetuses exposed to high levels of stress hormone may have solving problems later on: Study

A mother's nurture may provide powerful protection against risks her baby faces in the womb, according to a new article published online today in the journal Biological Psychiatry. The research shows that fetuses exposed to high levels of stress hormone - shown to be a harbinger for babies' poor cognitive development - can escape this fate if their mothers provide them sensitive care during infancy and toddler-hood.

26 Feb 2010

SynCare receives NCQA Accreditation for high-risk pregnancy program

SynCare, LLC has received National Committee for Quality Assurance Patient and Practitioner Oriented Full Accreditation for its high-risk pregnancy program, the SynCare Promise Program™ for Prenatal Care.

26 Feb 2010

Treadmill intervention may benefit infants with prenatal complications

Using a treadmill could help infants with prenatal complications or who were injured at birth walk earlier and better, according to a University of Michigan researcher.

24 Feb 2010

Group B streptococcus may have significant public health implications: Study

A common bacteria found in many healthy adult females that can cause life-threatening infections when passed to newborns could be introduced to some women through frequent contact with cows, according to a research team led by a Michigan State University pediatrician.

19 Feb 2010

Special issue reviews current state of science in fetal therapy

Repairing birth defects in the womb. Inserting a tiny laser into the mother's uterus to seal off an abnormal blood flow and save fetal twins. Advancing the science that may allow doctors to deliver cells or DNA to treat sickle cell anemia and other genetic diseases before birth.

17 Feb 2010

Sequenom CMM launches SensiGene Fetal Sex Determination test

Sequenom, Inc. today announced the launch of the SensiGene™ Fetal(XY) (Fetal Sex Determination) test by Sequenom's CAP accredited and CLIA-certified laboratory, Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (Sequenom CMM). This is the company's second laboratory developed test powered by its SEQureDx™ technology.

17 Feb 2010

Infants born to bilingual mothers exhibit different language preferences

It may not be obvious, but hearing two languages regularly during pregnancy puts infants on the road to bilingualism by birth. According to new findings in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, infants born to bilingual mothers (who spoke both languages regularly during pregnancy) exhibit different language preferences than infants born to mothers speaking only one language.

17 Feb 2010

Over 96% of SIDS cases due to known risk factors

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) continues to be the third leading cause of infant death, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), despite a decline in SIDS that is associated with a rise in safe-sleep practices for newborns and infants. A new study by Barbara M. Ostfeld, PhD and Thomas Hegyi, MD, professors in the Department of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has identified that more than 96 percent of infants who died of SIDS were exposed to known risk factors, among them sleeping on their side or stomach, or exposure to tobacco smoke, and that 78 percent of SIDS cases contained multiple risk factors.

16 Feb 2010

Researcher receives $2.4M grant from NIH to study preeclampsia and diabetes in pregnant women

The link between obesity and high-risk pregnancies caused by preeclampsia and diabetes will be the focus of a $2.4 million National Institutes of Health research grant received by Sean Blackwell, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

15 Feb 2010

Prenatal News and Research

20.2% women in New Jersey receive delayed or no prenatal care

Amnesty International: New York stands 47th on maternal mortality ranking

Amnesty International: Office of Maternal Health need to be established to reduce maternal deaths nationwide

First use of prenatal MRI to detect often-misdiagnosed CCD

New article sheds light on the costs and benefits of screening for SMA

HDI announces results of Rapid Maternal Mortality and Obstetric Fistula Prevention Project

Also in Global Health News: U.S. Ambassador to U.N.; Male circumcision; River blindness in Ecuador; Nursing shortage in Caribbean; Maternal health in Bolivia; Drug-resistant TB in North Korea; Cholera vaccine

Kaiser Permanente awards $500,000 grant to Community Health Alliance of Pasadena

Prenatal cocaine exposure affects sustained attention and self-regulated behavior in children

Determining personal risk for genetic disorders essential

Childhood obesity prevention: Prenatal and infancy period upto age 5 crucial

Fetuses exposed to high levels of stress hormone may have solving problems later on: Study

SynCare receives NCQA Accreditation for high-risk pregnancy program

Treadmill intervention may benefit infants with prenatal complications

Group B streptococcus may have significant public health implications: Study

Special issue reviews current state of science in fetal therapy

Sequenom CMM launches SensiGene Fetal Sex Determination test

Infants born to bilingual mothers exhibit different language preferences

Over 96% of SIDS cases due to known risk factors

Researcher receives $2.4M grant from NIH to study preeclampsia and diabetes in pregnant women

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