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The womb is the small, hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman's pelvis. This is the organ in which a baby grows. Also called uterus.

Study explores how shared cells influence health across generations

During pregnancy, maternal and fetal cells migrate back and forth across the placenta, with fetal cells entering the mother's bloodstream and tissues.

22 Jan 2026

Natural ovulation matches hormone therapy success in frozen embryo transfer

Natural ovulation before frozen embryo transfer is as effective as hormone treatment for achieving a healthy baby by vitro fertilization (IVF), finds a clinical trial from China published by The BMJ today.

21 Jan 2026

Engineered womb lining model opens a window into embryo implantation

By engineering a system replicating the womb lining with high biological accuracy, researchers at the Babraham Institute and Stanford University have been able to study the implantation of human embryos, opening up this enigmatic process to investigation.

23 Dec 2025

Study finds no specific harms linked to hydroxyurea exposure during pregnancy

Taking the sickle cell drug hydroxyurea during or shortly before pregnancy does not appear to cause specific issues in newborns, according to the first prospective study of pregnancies involving hydroxyurea exposure.

7 Dec 2025

Maternal exposure to fatty food aromas predisposes offspring to obesity

A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research has found that the smell of fatty foods during pregnancy increases the risk of overweight and obesity in children.

1 Dec 2025

Researchers use organoids to study the earliest moments of electrical activity in the brain

Humans have long wondered when and how we begin to form thoughts. Are we born with a pre-configured brain, or do thought patterns only begin to emerge in response to our sensory experiences of the world around us? Now, science is getting closer to answering the questions philosophers have pondered for centuries.

24 Nov 2025

New Cochrane reviews confirm the effectiveness of HPV vaccines in preventing cervical cancer

Two new Cochrane reviews show strong and consistent evidence that HPV vaccines are effective in preventing cervical cancer and pre-cancerous changes, especially when given to young people before they are exposed to the virus.

24 Nov 2025

Maternal stress linked to earlier baby teeth

Children have 20 milk teeth, 10 in each jaw. This set of teeth is important for chewing and speaking, and helps to keep space open for the subsequent set of 32 permanent teeth.

18 Nov 2025

Schizophrenia risk detectable at birth through epigenetic signatures

Genetic susceptibility to neurodevelopmental conditions such as schizophrenia, autism, and ADHD can be linked, in part, to distinct epigenetic signatures in newborn cord blood.

17 Nov 2025

New WHO guidance aims to strengthen care for preterm and low birth-weight babies

The World Health Organization (WHO) is marking its first official observance of World Prematurity Day with the launch of a new global clinical practice guide for Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) – a simple, proven and life-saving intervention that significantly improves survival for preterm and low birth-weight babies.

14 Nov 2025

Study explores lasting effects of maternal diet on food choices

A University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson researcher will explore how maternal diet influences offspring food choices later in life thanks to a National Institutes of Health's New Innovator award, a five-year, $1.5 million "high-risk, high-reward" grant given to early-career scientists advancing ambitious hypotheses with intriguing potential.

11 Nov 2025

Study links father's resilience to better prenatal health outcomes

A husband's optimism and confidence may play a crucial, if often unseen, role in helping babies arrive healthy and on time.

7 Nov 2025

Maternal type 1 diabetes confers a protective effect in children through epigenetic programming

Children with a family history of type 1 diabetes (T1D) have an increased risk of developing the disease.

6 Nov 2025

Galectin-3 found to drive crucial cell fusion in early placental development

During the first weeks of pregnancy, the developing placenta in a mother's womb undergoes a dramatic change.

5 Nov 2025

Researchers reveal how maternal stress reshapes fetal growth and brain development

Maternal stress, encompassing physical, emotional, and psychological distress, remains a widespread yet underestimated risk during pregnancy.

24 Oct 2025

Updated guidelines published for pediatric CPR and emergency cardiovascular care

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association (the Association), a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, have published updated guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care for newborn and pediatric populations.

24 Oct 2025

Study: Common test to assess viability of IVF embryos may be flawed

A test deployed in many fertility clinics to assess the viability of embryos for use in IVF is likely to overestimate the number of embryos with abnormalities, suggests a study published today.

23 Oct 2025

Immediate skin-to-skin contact offers significant health advantages for infants

Immediate skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their mothers offers a better start in life, improving a number of key health metrics, according to a newly updated Cochrane review.

22 Oct 2025

Why the first 1,000 days matter most in preventing childhood obesity

The EndObesity Consortium’s narrative review underscores that most childhood obesity risks emerge in the first 1,000 days, well before birth, highlighting gaps in parental, social, and policy interventions. Effective prevention demands preconception-focused, family-wide, and system-level strategies built on equitable public health frameworks.

20 Oct 2025

Mother's voice promotes development of language pathways in preemies’ brains

Hearing the sound of their mother's voice promotes development of language pathways in a premature baby's brain, according to a new Stanford Medicine-led study.

14 Oct 2025