Birth Weight News and Research

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New therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Although the development of these disorders is most commonly associated with lifestyle factors like obesity, increasing evidence suggests that events much earlier in one's life can also play a role.

6 Dec 2021

Maternal anemia during pregnancy may increase risk of childhood anemia

Babies born to women with anemia during pregnancy have an increased risk of childhood anemia, according to a study carried out in rural India.

2 Dec 2021

Financial incentives effective in helping pregnant smokers stop smoking

Pregnant women are more likely to stop smoking if financial incentives are offered as part of a treatment plan, finds a trial from France published in The BMJ today.

2 Dec 2021

New assessment finds 40% of the adults to be obese or overweight

The fight against obesity and undernourishment stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 40 per cent of adults now obese or overweight, the world's leading independent assessment of the state of global nutrition has found.

1 Dec 2021

Maternal-fetal interface yields intriguing clues to how it battles SARS-CoV-2

Scientists have hypothesized that the number of immune cells and the amount of cytokines produced in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women change in accordance with the timing of maternal infection in pregnancy. This study is available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

24 Nov 2021

'Brain age' mostly relates to early life influences

Researchers in brain science and aging are very interested in measuring the health of a brain using a single observation. The most popular way to measure it is through a method called "brain age".

16 Nov 2021

Pregnancy outcomes during the Jordanian COVID-19 national lockdown

A Jordanian study was conducted to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 national lockdown on stillbirth, neonatal-perinatal mortality, preterm birth, and birth weight.

16 Nov 2021

Will the future of global health rely upon addressing air pollution?

We speak to Dr. Philip Landrigan about his latest research into air pollution and how African countries are in a prime position to take action against it.

12 Nov 2021

Study finds high rates of asphyxia-associated neonatal mortality in poorer parts of São Paulo state

Researchers who analyzed data for São Paulo state, Brazil, found the highest rates of newborn mortality from asphyxia in cities in the south, southeast and north of the state between 2004 and 2013.

10 Nov 2021

Study finds significant increase in cannabis use disorder during pregnancy

As more states legalize cannabis (now 37) for medical or recreational purposes its use during pregnancy is increasing, along with the potential for abuse or dependence.

3 Nov 2021

Pregnant women with Takayasu's arteritis may have high prevalence of maternal and fetal complications

New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting, shows that pregnant women with Takayasu's arteritis, a type of large-vessel vasculitis, appear to have a high prevalence of serious maternal and fetal adverse outcomes.

2 Nov 2021

Pregnant women exposed to landscape fire smoke more likely to have low birth weight babies

Women exposed to smoke from landscape fires during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to babies with low or very low birth weights, according to findings published in eLife.

2 Nov 2021

Sexually dimorphic placental antibody transfer during SARS-CoV-2 infection

In a paper recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine by Bordt et al. (October 19th, 2021), maternal SARS-CoV-2 infections are studied with particular regard to maternal-fetal antibody transfer and virus-induced placental interferon responses, finding a sexually dimorphic response that results in lesser antibody transfer to the male fetus.

26 Oct 2021

Depression, anxiety in pregnant women may increase the likelihood of cesarean deliveries

Depression and anxiety in pregnant women may be connected to the type of delivery they have, new research suggests.

20 Oct 2021

Scientists testify the importance of timely influenza vaccination

With flu season approaching in the United States, new research from an international team of scientists testifies to the importance of timely vaccination

15 Oct 2021

Poor timing of flu vaccinations associated with poor birth outcomes and cesarean births

With flu season approaching in the United States, new research from an international team of scientists testifies to the importance of timely vaccination: Poor timing of influenza vaccination campaigns in the semi-arid region of Brazil led to an increase in premature births, lower birth-weight babies and the need to deliver more babies by cesarean section, the researchers found.

13 Oct 2021

Prescriptions for prenatal substance use disorder treatment fell in US during COVID-19 pandemic

Researchers have shown that the number of prescriptions filled out for a treatment associated with improved pregnancy outcomes among individuals with substance use disorder declined in the United States as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continued.

12 Oct 2021

Neonatal outcomes of preterm infants born during COVID lockdowns in Melbourne, Australia

A team of researchers from Australian institutes examined the consequences of community-wide lockdowns on neonatal outcomes of preterm infants, with a secondary focus on the underlying rates of systemic inflammation in infants and mothers around the time of birth.

5 Oct 2021

Untreated depression in pregnant women associated with low birth weight and preterm birth

Untreated depression in pregnant people is strongly linked to low birth weight and preterm birth, with Black pregnant people suffering worse outcomes than their white peers, according to a new meta-analysis led by Shannon Simonovich, assistant professor at DePaul University's School of Nursing.