Birth Weight News and Research

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Study reveals the ill effects of common air pollutants on pregnant women and their unborn children

Mild exposure to common smog pollutants such as inhalable airborne particles and carbon monoxide during pregnancy results in adverse maternal and fetal health outcomes, a new study of women in China finds.

5 Aug 2022

Mild exposure to smog pollutants during pregnancy affects maternal and fetal health outcomes

5 Aug 2022

Population-based cohort study investigates the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnancy outcomes

In a new study, researchers have focused on evaluating small-for-gestational-age rates and preterm birth in a large cohort.

27 Jul 2022

Attending daycare may increase lung complications in preterm children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Attending daycare in the first three years of life is linked with an increase in lung complications in children who were born prematurely and diagnosed with a form of chronic lung disease, according to new research led by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

26 Jul 2022

PFAS exposure harms people's health and undermines America's economy

Daily exposure to a class of chemicals used in the production of many household items may lead to cancer, thyroid disease, and childhood obesity, a new study shows.

26 Jul 2022

Coffee consumption during pregnancy may not be harmful

How many cups of coffee you drink when you are pregnant does not seem to negatively affect the weight of the baby, whether it is born prematurely, or your risk of miscarriage or stillbirth.

18 Jul 2022

Study confirms a causal link between lead-in-water and adverse fetal health outcomes

Lehigh University and Bentley University health economics researchers have published the first study to confirm a causal relationship between lead-in-water and adverse fetal health outcomes.

13 Jul 2022

Kangaroo care enhances the bonding between fathers and their infants

An Australian study examining how dads bond with their premature newborns in a neonatal clinic shows the immense power of skin-to-skin contact between father and infant in the initial weeks of life.

11 Jul 2022

Stillbirths and preterm births significantly lower in COVID vaccinated women

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers determined the association between messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations and perinatal outcomes including congenital abnormalities, stillbirths, and premature births in Australia.

8 Jul 2022

Chronic stress in pregnancy affects fetal iron homeostasis

If a woman experiences chronic stress late in her pregnancy, it can affect her fetus' ability to absorb iron by as much as 15%, according to a study led by UW Medicine researchers in Seattle.

7 Jul 2022

Exploring association of fetal and infant weight growth patterns with impaired arterial health

A new study examined the association of weight growth patterns during infancy and fetal periods with carotid distensibility and cIMT in children who are 10 years of age.

1 Jul 2022

Miscarriage risk may increase in the summer months

Up to 30 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage, defined as pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of pregnancy. As many as half of miscarriages are unexplained, and there are few known risk factors for these pregnancy losses, which can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety.

27 Jun 2022

Arsenic in private well water associated with low birthweight babies

In the largest epidemiologic study of arsenic and birth outcomes to date, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago and collaborating institutions estimated arsenic levels in U.S. private well water sources by county and compared estimates to documented birth outcomes.

24 Jun 2022

Women with premature births more often have gum disease, study finds

Women with preterm births may be more likely to have gum disease compared to those with full-term births, according to research presented at EuroPerio10, the world's leading congress in periodontology and implant dentistry organized by the European Federation of Periodontology.

17 Jun 2022

It’s hot outside — and that’s bad news for children’s health

Heat waves are getting hotter and becoming more frequent because of rising rates of air pollution, putting children's health at risk, a wide-ranging new report finds.

16 Jun 2022

Genetic testing results in lower length of stay in the NICU for infants with epilepsy

Genetic testing results in lower length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for infants with epilepsy, according to a study published in the journal Pediatric Neurology.

7 Jun 2022

New smartphone app helps identify severe jaundice in newborn babies

A smartphone app that identifies severe jaundice in newborn babies by scanning their eyes could be a life-saver in areas that lack access to expensive screening devices, suggests a study co-authored by researchers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Ghana.

3 Jun 2022

Robust biomarker panel could help predict gestational diabetes in early pregnancy

UCLA researchers have taken the initial step in identifying what may be an effective way to detect gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) earlier in pregnancy, potentially improving diagnosis and treatment for what is the most common disorder of pregnancy.

25 May 2022

The effects of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on the newborn child

Even as the Omicron variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread worldwide, interest in understanding the sequelae of the disease is growing. A new preprint research paper examines the outcomes of babies born to mothers infected with the virus during pregnancy.

24 May 2022

Maternity Disparities Taskforce focuses on supporting women’s health before and during pregnancy

Minister for Women's Health Minister Maria Caulfield and Chief Midwifery Officer Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent co-chaired the second meeting of the Maternity Disparities Taskforce this week (Monday 16 May 2022).

18 May 2022