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Prenatal marijuana use linked to increased chance of low birth weights

With marijuana use during pregnancy on the rise, a new study led by the Colorado School of Public Health shows that prenatal cannabis use was associated with a 50 percent increased likelihood of low birth weight, setting the stage for serious future health problems including infection and time spent in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

23 Apr 2018

Metabolic differences may contribute to postpartum weight retention in black moms

Differences in the way women with obesity burn calories during pregnancy may be a contributor to long-term postpartum weight retention in black moms, according to researchers in Baton Rouge, La.

23 Apr 2018

Study confirms parental infanticide in grassland bird species

Baby birds go missing from their nests all the time. Usually, the disappearances are chalked up to predation, but in extremely rare cases, parents have been observed removing their own chicks from their nests.

20 Apr 2018

Researchers use smartphone to diagnose people infected with Loa loa worm

The Berkeley researchers figured out that they could quickly determine who has the Loa loa worm using a smartphone, customized to work like a microscope. They could then skip the medication for those people and give it to everyone else. Kamgno, who received the latest version of the phones in 2016, dubbed the mobile microscopes "revolutionary."

19 Apr 2018

New SIDS Info app seeks to reduce infant sleep-related deaths

Peter LaMont's second child will be born next month, but the last time he put an infant to bed was 16 years ago. So, the Bridgewater father turned to the SIDS Center of New Jersey's new SIDS Info app to catch up on safe sleep recommendations for babies.

18 Apr 2018

Study uncovers mechanism fueling group B strep infection in woman's uterus

Group B strep (group B streptococcus or GBS) is a common bacteria present in the vagina of about 1 in 4 women. In the U.S. and other developed countries, pregnant women are tested for GBS with those who test positive given antibiotics to help protect babies from infection.

11 Apr 2018

Research reveals complexity of interactions between microbes that cause infections

Below the surface of systems as large and ancient as an ocean and as small and new as a human baby are communities of viruses and bacteria that interact to influence everything from worldwide oxygen levels to the likelihood a newborn will fall ill.

11 Apr 2018

New study highlights lack of vegetable choices in infant and toddler food

Eat your vegetables is a well-worn message that weary parents have been giving reluctant children at the dinner table for generations.

10 Apr 2018

Using Cord Blood to Alleviate the Symptoms of Autism

Cord blood has been studied extensively for the treatment of hematological diseases such as cancer and sickle cell anemia, but is now in phase II trials for the alleviation of autism. Dr. Ann Smith, director of Smart Cells who provided the cord blood for the trial, discusses the research and it's potential.

9 Apr 2018

Telemedicine enables accurate detection of devastating cause of blindness in premature babies

Accurately detecting a rare, but devastating cause of blindness in premature babies can be done as effectively with telemedicine as with traditional, in-person eye exams, a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology suggests. This is believed to be the first study to directly compare the two approaches.

6 Apr 2018

Sinai hospital acknowledges birth of new baby by playing Brahms’ Lullaby

Occasionally- at any given time- a sweet-sounding, classic children's melody is played over the intercom system at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore for all to hear.

6 Apr 2018

Research provides new insights about gender differences in airway disease risk

Human airways already demonstrate gender-based differences in DNA methylation signatures at birth, providing an early hint of which infants may be predisposed to develop respiratory disorders like asthma later in life, a research team reports in a paper published online April 3, 2018, in Scientific Reports.

6 Apr 2018

Researchers develop improved method for calculating type 1 diabetes risk

An international research group headed by scientists from Helmholtz Zentrum München has developed a method for calculating the risk for developing type 1 diabetes that is significantly superior to earlier methods.

4 Apr 2018

Women with type-1 diabetes face tough situation after giving birth

Holding a newborn baby - and, at the same time, dealing with a blood sugar level that is fluctuating like never before. For some women with type-1 diabetes, the situation right after giving birth is overwhelming, and they need more support, according to research at Sahlgrenska Academy, Sweden.

4 Apr 2018

Many older adults support marijuana use with doctor’s recommendation, poll finds

Few older adults use medical marijuana, a new national poll finds, but the majority support its use if a doctor recommends it, and might talk to their own doctor about it if they developed a serious health condition.

3 Apr 2018

Psychiatrist stays close to home and true to her childhood promise

Dr. Yamanda Edwards, the daughter of a truck driver and a stay-at-home mom, grew up just a few miles from Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center, at the time an iconic yet troubled hospital in South Los Angeles.

3 Apr 2018

SIDS study reveals unsafe sleep practices among babysitters, relatives and friends

Babies who died during their sleep while being watched by someone other than parents often had been placed in unsafe sleep positions, such as on their stomachs, or in unsafe locations, such as a couch, a new study has found.

2 Apr 2018

Researchers urge federal policymakers to address perinatal depression among minority women

Despite Latinas' and African-American women's increased risks of perinatal depression and the availability of reliable screening tools and national awareness campaigns, research has shown that these women are significantly less likely to be screened or treated.

30 Mar 2018

Alfred Blalock’s medical breakthroughs have been saving many lives

The year was 1925, and Alfred Blalock was already a failure at age 26. The born-and-raised Georgian earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia in 1918, then a medical doctorate from Johns Hopkins University four years later. But he didn't get the surgical residency he coveted at Hopkins; he ended up interning in urology instead.

29 Mar 2018

Study identifies potential genetic link in sudden infant death syndrome

Rare genetic mutations associated with impairment of the breathing muscles are more common in children who have died from sudden infant death syndrome (also known as ‘cot death’) than in healthy controls, suggesting a possible genetic element of the disorder, according to a case-control study in the UK and USA published in The Lancet.

29 Mar 2018