Prenatal News and Research

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Children with FASD show high prevalence of developing epilepsy

Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder show a very high prevalence of developing epilepsy and having seizures, according to a national study by Queen's University researchers.

7 Apr 2010

March of Dimes declares 2010 Colorado funding for mom and baby health programs

The March of Dimes today announced its 2010 Colorado funding for mom and baby health programs. In total, the organization will invest $1,959,227 in research, services, education and advocacy programs.

31 Mar 2010

Disparities in African American women's breastfeeding practices

African American women are less likely to breastfeed their children, in part due to the preconceived attitudes that women have regarding breastfeeding vs. formula feeding, according to a new study from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center researchers.

26 Mar 2010

Human rights organization calls for national action to combat rising pregnancy-related complications

Amnesty International today pointed to new government figures showing the highest-ever rate of Caesarean sections as more evidence the United States needs to adopt guidelines for the use of obstetric procedures to begin reversing rising pregnancy complications and maternal deaths.

26 Mar 2010

Novel test may help identify newborns with fragile X syndrome

A newly developed test appears highly accurate in identifying newborns with fragile X syndrome—the most common inherited cause of cognitive impairment—as well as identifying couples who are carriers of the causative gene, reports a study in the March issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics.

25 Mar 2010

Clinicians can help pregnant women in making lifestyle changes for healthy weight gain

A new study from UCSF shows that prenatal health care professionals are concerned about patients' excessive weight gain during pregnancy but have difficulty providing effective counseling.

24 Mar 2010

Passage of health insurance reforms should spur action to ensure quality maternal care

Now that health insurance reform legislation has passed, President Obama and Congress must urgently turn their attention to ensuring quality maternal care for every American woman to reduce rising deaths and complications during pregnancy and childbirth, Amnesty International said today.

23 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet study performed a systematic review of HIV prevention and treatment services targeting injecting drug users (IDUs) globally based on the availability of "core interventions for IDUs: needle and syringe programmes (NSPs), opioid substitution therapy (OST) and other drug treatment, HIV testing and counselling, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and condom programmes." The authors conclude, "although the number of countries with core HIV prevention services is growing … worldwide, there are few countries in which the level of intervention coverage is sufficient to prevent HIV transmission" (Mathers et al., 3/20).

20 Mar 2010

Stress during pregnancy may raise infant’s risk to asthma and allergy

Stress during pregnancy may raise the risk of asthma in offspring, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

18 Mar 2010

Methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy leads to structural abnormalities in brain of children

It has long been known that alcohol exposure is toxic to the developing fetus and can result in lifelong brain, cognitive and behavioral problems. Now, a new report out of UCLA shows that the effects of prenatal methamphetamine exposure - or worse, a combination of methamphetamine and alcohol - may be even more damaging.

17 Mar 2010

Researchers explore new tools to mitigate risk of radiation exposure

Doctors have a clearer picture than ever before of how much radiation reaches sensitive tissues during routine X-rays and similar imaging, thanks to sophisticated models of the human body being developed at the University of Florida.

17 Mar 2010

Human amniotic fluid skin cells "reprogrammed" to pluripotency

In a breakthrough that may help fill a critical need in stem cell research and patient care, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have demonstrated that skin cells found in human amniotic fluid can be efficiently "reprogrammed" to pluripotency, where they have characteristics similar to human embryonic stem cells that can develop into almost any type of cell in the human body. The study is online now and will appear in print in the next issue of the journal Cellular Reprogramming, to be published next month.

16 Mar 2010

Mission Pharmacal, March of Dimes to distribute healthy pregnancy, healthy baby education materials

Mission Pharmacal announced today that it will partner with the March of Dimes to distribute healthy pregnancy and healthy baby education materials to more than 15,000 obstetricians and gynecologists nationwide to help more babies be born healthy.

16 Mar 2010

New guidelines to emphasize safety of dental treatment during pregnancy

Spotlighting the importance of oral health care for expectant mothers, the California Dental Association Foundation has released new guidelines designed to emphasize the safety of dental treatment during pregnancy and ensure women the services they need.

16 Mar 2010

ATS releases new clinical policy statement on CCHS

The American Thoracic Society has released a new official clinical policy statement on congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), a disorder of respiratory and autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulation. The ANS regulates reflexive acts, including heart rate and blood pressure, digestion, body temperature and pain perception.

15 Mar 2010

Louisiana ranks 46th on maternal mortality, records 15.9 deaths per 100,000 live births

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 Louisiana is 46th on a maternal mortality ranking, with 15.9 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010

Report shows District of Columbia stands 51st on maternal mortality ranking

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 the District of Columbia is 51st on a maternal mortality ranking, with 34.9 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010

Maternal health care crisis in the U.S.: 15.8% of women in Georgia 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 Georgia is 50th on a maternal mortality ranking, with 20.5 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010

Pregnancy-related deaths increase in Michigan, Amnesty International report

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 Michigan is 42nd on a maternal mortality ranking, with 13.6 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010

California ranks 35th in maternal mortality, records 11.3 deaths per 100,000 live births

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 California is 35th on a maternal mortality ranking, with 11.3 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010

Prenatal News and Research

Children with FASD show high prevalence of developing epilepsy

March of Dimes declares 2010 Colorado funding for mom and baby health programs

Disparities in African American women's breastfeeding practices

Human rights organization calls for national action to combat rising pregnancy-related complications

Novel test may help identify newborns with fragile X syndrome

Clinicians can help pregnant women in making lifestyle changes for healthy weight gain

Passage of health insurance reforms should spur action to ensure quality maternal care

Recent releases in Global Health

Stress during pregnancy may raise infant’s risk to asthma and allergy

Methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy leads to structural abnormalities in brain of children

Researchers explore new tools to mitigate risk of radiation exposure

Human amniotic fluid skin cells "reprogrammed" to pluripotency

Mission Pharmacal, March of Dimes to distribute healthy pregnancy, healthy baby education materials

New guidelines to emphasize safety of dental treatment during pregnancy

ATS releases new clinical policy statement on CCHS

Louisiana ranks 46th on maternal mortality, records 15.9 deaths per 100,000 live births

Report shows District of Columbia stands 51st on maternal mortality ranking

Maternal health care crisis in the U.S.: 15.8% of women in Georgia receive delayed or no prenatal care

Pregnancy-related deaths increase in Michigan, Amnesty International report

California ranks 35th in maternal mortality, records 11.3 deaths per 100,000 live births

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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