Prenatal News and Research

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Is a vegan diet the right choice for your child?

A new scoping review analyzes current evidence on vegan diets in children, examining health outcomes, growth, and nutritional adequacy. The findings show that well-planned vegan diets can support normal growth, but highlight crucial gaps and the need for ongoing clinical and research guidance.

26 May 2025

New blood test speeds up diagnosis of rare childhood diseases

A new, rapid testing method will greatly help the diagnosis of rare diseases in babies and children, according to research to be presented to the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Monday).

25 May 2025

Blood cell-free RNA signatures can predict preterm birth months in advance

Children born before 37 weeks of gestation have a considerably increased risk of dying before they reach the age of five.

25 May 2025

Tropical cyclones increase infant mortality in developing countries

Tropical cyclones, including storms below hurricane and typhoon strength, were associated with a sharp rise in infant mortality in low- and middle-income countries during the first two decades of this century, according to new research published in Science Advances.

23 May 2025

Air pollution exposure in pregnancy may increase asthma risk for the next generation

A mother's exposure to air pollution during pregnancy can increase asthma risk in her adult offspring, according to a new mouse study published at the ATS 2025 International Conference.

20 May 2025

New machine learning model shows promise in predicting postpartum depression risk

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 15 percent of individuals after childbirth. Early identification of patients at risk of PPD could improve proactive mental health support.

19 May 2025

Rural patients face tough choices when their hospitals stop delivering babies

Sophie Hofeldt planned to receive prenatal care and give birth at her local hospital, 10 minutes from her house. Instead, she's driving more than three hours round trip for her appointments.

19 May 2025

Repeated antibiotics in preterm infants linked to long-term lung problems

Repeated perinatal antibiotic exposure in very low-birth-weight preterm infants was associated with impaired lung function and a higher risk of asthma at early school age. The findings underscore the need for cautious antibiotic use and targeted respiratory health strategies in this high-risk group.

18 May 2025

Injecting medicine into amniotic fluid shows promise for treating genetic disorders

Injecting medicine into the amniotic fluid staves off progression of spinal muscular atrophy in utero.

14 May 2025

Australia releases first national guidelines for diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Health professionals will have access to national clinical practice guidelines to help assess and diagnose fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), following a 4-year research project led by The University of Queensland.

12 May 2025

Woman with rare genetic disorder delivers healthy baby after complex pregnancy

When Jessica Johnson, 36, began to experience labored breathing and heart palpitations, she quickly made an appointment to see a cardiologist.

11 May 2025

Maternal testosterone levels shape boys' activity and girls' strength by age 7

Boys born to mothers with PCOS or high third-trimester testosterone levels are less physically active at age 7, particularly on weekends. Girls exposed to high prenatal testosterone show reduced muscle strength but not lower activity levels.

10 May 2025

Study reveals phthalate exposure harms early sexual development in children

Maternal exposure to phthalates during pregnancy is linked to shorter anogenital distance in 3-year-old boys, a marker of impaired sexual development. Girls showed similar outcomes from their own postnatal exposure, highlighting the lasting hormonal risks of environmental pollutants.

10 May 2025

Machine learning model guides smarter gene selection in newborn screening

More than a decade ago, researchers launched the BabySeq Project, a pilot program to return newborn genomic sequencing results to parents and measure the effects on newborn care.

10 May 2025

One in four women in France report disrespectful care during childbirth

A quarter of women who gave birth in metropolitan France and were surveyed reported that they were treated disrespectfully during childbirth and/or while staying in the hospital after giving birth.

7 May 2025

Cannabis use during pregnancy linked to higher risk of infant complications

An updated systematic review finds that consuming cannabis while pregnant appears to increase the odds of preterm birth, low birth weight and infant death.

5 May 2025

Alabama can’t prosecute groups helping patients get abortions elsewhere, judge rules

Reproductive rights groups in Alabama wasted no time resuming their work after a federal judge ruled in early April that the state's attorney general can't prosecute — or threaten to prosecute — people or organizations who help Alabama residents seek an abortion by traveling to another state.

5 May 2025

Trump restores Title X funding for two anti-abortion states — while wiping it out elsewhere

The Trump administration quietly restored federal family planning money to Tennessee and Oklahoma, despite court rulings that the states weren’t entitled to funds because they refused to provide women information about terminating pregnancies or abortion referrals on request.

30 Apr 2025

Erythropoietin fails to improve outcomes for newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Erythropoietin, a treatment for newborns with critically low levels of oxygen or blood supply to the brain at birth, does not prevent death or disability, according to a new multinational study.

25 Apr 2025

Urgent action needed to protect children from extreme heat in schools and child care settings

As Canadians face increasingly intense and frequent heat waves, health, education and legal experts are sounding the alarm on a growing crisis: extreme heat in schools and child care settings due to the escalating effects of climate change.

24 Apr 2025

Prenatal News and Research

Is a vegan diet the right choice for your child?

New blood test speeds up diagnosis of rare childhood diseases

Blood cell-free RNA signatures can predict preterm birth months in advance

Tropical cyclones increase infant mortality in developing countries

Air pollution exposure in pregnancy may increase asthma risk for the next generation

New machine learning model shows promise in predicting postpartum depression risk

Rural patients face tough choices when their hospitals stop delivering babies

Repeated antibiotics in preterm infants linked to long-term lung problems

Injecting medicine into amniotic fluid shows promise for treating genetic disorders

Australia releases first national guidelines for diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Woman with rare genetic disorder delivers healthy baby after complex pregnancy

Maternal testosterone levels shape boys' activity and girls' strength by age 7

Study reveals phthalate exposure harms early sexual development in children

Machine learning model guides smarter gene selection in newborn screening

One in four women in France report disrespectful care during childbirth

Cannabis use during pregnancy linked to higher risk of infant complications

Alabama can’t prosecute groups helping patients get abortions elsewhere, judge rules

Trump restores Title X funding for two anti-abortion states — while wiping it out elsewhere

Erythropoietin fails to improve outcomes for newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Urgent action needed to protect children from extreme heat in schools and child care settings

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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