Birth Weight News and Research

RSS

Frequent adolescent cannabis use may carry intergenerational risks, study finds

Teenagers who use cannabis frequently may be more likely to have children born preterm, when they become parents up to twenty years later, finds a new University of Bristol-led study.

19 Aug 2021

Metabolism peaks much earlier and starts to decline later than you might think

Most of us remember a time when we could eat anything we wanted and not gain weight. But a new study suggests your metabolism, the rate at which you burn calories, actually peaks much earlier and starts its inevitable decline later than you might think.

12 Aug 2021

Three-dimensional analyses of ultrasound images can accurately predict fetal weight during pregnancy

A potential predictor of complications during pregnancy and birth is fetal birth weight. For example, macrosomia (which is defined as a birth weight greater than 4,000 grams) makes it more difficult for the baby's shoulders to pass through the mother's vagina, and this effect can increase the mother's risk of experiencing vaginal tearing and postpartum bleeding and her likelihood of needing to undergo a caesarian section.

3 Aug 2021

Healthy eating during pregnancy is fundamental for mother and child

Healthy and balanced nutrition during pregnancy and early infancy is important for mother and child. However, despite some recent progress in Europe, there is still a long way to achieve the nutrition targets set by the WHO to improve maternal, infant and young child nutrition.

29 Jul 2021

Pregnant women in South-East Asia more likely to use smokeless tobacco

Pregnant women in South-East Asia are more likely to use chewing or other kinds of smokeless tobacco than non-pregnant women of reproductive age, according to a study.

27 Jul 2021

UMD receives funding to enhance quality of pork production through improved muscle growth in pigs

The University of Maryland received funding from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to enhance the overall quality and efficiency of pork production through improved muscle growth in pigs.

20 Jul 2021

Exploring links between stress, choline deficiency, preterm births, and mental illness

In two recent articles published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, Sharon Hunter, PhD, an associate professor in the University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, and M. Camille Hoffman, MD, MSc, an associate professor in the University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, along with their research group, have uncovered a potential link between choline deficiency in Black pregnant women in the United States and increased risk of developmental and behavioral issues that can evolve into mental illness later in their children's lives.

7 Jul 2021

Plastic drapes lower the incidence of hypothermia in very low birth-weight neonates

Most babies born prematurely or with health problems are quickly whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they might require assisted heating devices to regulate their temperature.

1 Jul 2021

Six antibody features could be used to identify women at risk of placental malaria

Six antibody characteristics could help scientists identify which pregnant women are at risk of placental malaria infections, finds a study published today in eLife.

29 Jun 2021

Researchers find several persistent industrial chemicals in fetal organs

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found industrial chemicals in the organs of fetuses conceived decades after many countries had banned the substances.

16 Jun 2021

WHO: Effective action needed to protect the health of children from toxic e-waste

Effective and binding action is urgently required to protect the millions of children, adolescents and expectant mothers worldwide whose health is jeopardized by the informal processing of discarded electrical or electronic devices according to a new ground-breaking report from the World Health Organization: Children and Digital Dumpsites.

15 Jun 2021

Study finds ‘widespread’ use of toxic chemicals in a range of cosmetics

Cosmetics from the United States have been found to contain high levels of polyuoroalkyl substances (PFAS), associated with a range of harmful conditions.

15 Jun 2021

$Heavier birth weight is linked to higher risk of bone fracture later in life$

Heavier birth weight is linked to higher risk of bone fracture later in life

New research published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research has linked heavier birth weight with lower bone mineral density and a higher risk of bone fracture later in life.

9 Jun 2021

New app helps women achieve healthy weight gain and lifestyle during pregnancy

Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have developed an app to help women achieve a healthy weight gain and lifestyle during a pregnancy.

2 Jun 2021

Very preterm or very low birthweight children may require special support to boost their learning

The average IQ of adults who were born very preterm (VP) or at a very low birth weight (VLBW) has been compared to adults born full term by researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick.

1 Jun 2021

New study launched to understand COVID impact on mental health in parents and babies

The COVID-19 pandemic turned the lives of many all over the world upside down. Nowhere has this been more obvious than the interactions between parents and children, beginning during pregnancy, over the past year of the pandemic. A new study from Oxford and Cambridge in the UK will explore the reality of changes in this area, and how they have impacted early human development.

26 May 2021

Are COVID-19 medications safe in pregnancy?

Most medications being tested today in clinical trials for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been repurposed from other indications. These are typically not tested in pregnant women. A new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, summarizes what is known about the safety of these drugs in this group.

24 May 2021

Women need to avoid pregnancy for 12 months after bariatric surgery

A study presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (held online, 10-13 May) supports recommendations to avoid pregnancy for 12 months after bariatric (obesity) surgery due to an association with adverse outcomes in pregnancy including an elevated risk of preterm birth.

8 May 2021

New low cost, non-electric warmer effectively treats infant hypothermia

Neonatal hypothermia -- which occurs when an infant's core body temperature falls below the normal range needed to maintain health -- contributes to approximately one million deaths each year, and countless cases of stunted growth, almost exclusively in low- and middle-income countries.

7 May 2021

Pregnancy may increase the risk of COVID-19 severity

Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy has been a subject of much controversy. In order to help answer the question as to whether this infection causes significant harm in pregnancy, a new study, released as a medRxiv* preprint, reports on the disease outcomes of this infection in pregnant women.

5 May 2021