Prenatal News and Research

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Pilot survey provides data on the unique needs of new fathers

While federal legislation requires tracking and reporting data on maternal health behaviors around childbirth, fathers have been overlooked in these public health efforts to improve maternal and infant outcomes.

24 Jan 2022

Study: Many incarcerated pregnant people with opioid use disorder do not receive standard of care treatment

In a large survey study looking at the availability of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for pregnant and postpartum people in United States jails, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers found that a substantial number of facilities fail to consistently provide standard MOUD to this group.

20 Jan 2022

Study analyzes the link between consuming sweeteners during pregnancy and a child's risk of obesity

A new study investigates the link between consuming sweeteners during pregnancy and a child's risk of obesity. Pregnant rats fed with stevia or aspartame gave birth to pups that had a higher risk of obesity and specific changes in their gut microbiome. The findings highlight the importance of maternal nutrition during pregnancy.

16 Jan 2022

Study provides valuable insight into the developmental origins of schizophrenia

Scientists from Cardiff University have discovered new links between the breakdown in brain cell development and the risk of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.

16 Jan 2022

Study offers new evidence on how childhood immunometabolic risk factors may lead to depression, psychosis

A growing body of research suggests that early-life infection, inflammation, and metabolic changes could contribute to psychiatric disorders – perhaps via effects during critical periods of brain development.

11 Jan 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Contagion confusion

The covid-19 pandemic is now entering its third year, and the ever-evolving health advice to combat an ever-evolving virus is leaving Americans more cranky and confused than ever.

6 Jan 2022

Analyzing cell-free RNA could reliably predict preeclampsia

Imaging techniques such as ultrasound technologies and minimally invasive procedures are powerful tools for assessing pregnancy health and progression.

5 Jan 2022

Recommended choline intake during pregnancy improves child's sustained attention

Seven-year-old children performed better on a challenging task requiring sustained attention if their mothers consumed twice the recommended amount of choline during their pregnancy, a new Cornell study has found.

3 Jan 2022

Hypertension-related maternal mortality rates continue to increase in the United States

Chronic hypertension is contributing substantially to maternal deaths in the United States, with particular risk among Black women, according to new research from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences.

3 Jan 2022

Altered cytokine profiles of COVID-19-infected mother-infant dyads may impair long-term infant health

New study findings suggest that both SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers and their fetuses have increased levels of inflammatory cytokines throughout gestation, which may potentially impact fetus health in the long term.

31 Dec 2021

3D-printed tracheal replacement splint offers hope for treating rare developmental abnormality

Ramiah Martin isn't like other little girls, and that's perfectly fine with her mother. "She is nothing short of a miracle," Leanne Martin said of her daughter, who was facing long odds before her birth in December 2017, after being diagnosed with heart problems during a prenatal ultrasound.

21 Dec 2021

Pandemic poses short- and long-term risks to babies, especially boys

The pandemic has created a hostile environment for pregnant people and their babies. Stress levels among expectant mothers have soared. Pregnant women with covid are five times as likely as uninfected pregnant people to require intensive care and 22 times as likely to die. Infected moms are four times as likely to have a stillborn child.

21 Dec 2021

COVID-19 infection during pregnancy found to impact infant neurodevelopment

New research suggests that prenatal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exposure increases the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in the baby’s first year of life.

20 Dec 2021

Study: Pregnant women in areas with worse health disparities are at greater risk of adverse outcomes

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center studied outcomes for young women at a county hospital and found that while 97% of them accessed prenatal care, those with greater social needs were associated with adverse outcomes both during pregnancy and during the early weeks of their babies' lives.

16 Dec 2021

Sartorius strengthens its bioanalytics portfolio by acquiring a majority stake in ALS Automated Lab Solutions

The life science group Sartorius is expanding its bioanalytics portfolio by acquiring a majority stake in ALS Automated Lab Solutions GmbH.

From Sartorius 16 Dec 2021

Hormone levels in the womb before birth linked to the risk of developing migraine in adulthood

Hormone levels in the womb before birth have been potentially linked to the risk of developing migraine in adulthood, reveals a new study of genetic and environmental information from the world's largest database of twins.

16 Dec 2021

Financial hardship exceedingly common among pregnant and postpartum women in the U.S.

Pregnancy and the year after delivery is a critical period for health care access for birthing individuals and babies.

13 Dec 2021

MRI uncovers significant changes in the brain structure of fetuses exposed to alcohol

In the first MRI-based study to investigate pre-natal alcohol exposure, researchers found significant changes in the brain structure of fetuses exposed to alcohol compared to healthy controls. Results of the study are being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

1 Dec 2021

New study highlights gap in postpartum blood pressure screening

In a new study, only 13.7% of women diagnosed with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) attended a blood pressure screening visit within 10 days of delivery. HDP can cause life-threatening complications, as described in the study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women's Health.

23 Nov 2021

Study aims to understand how prenatal factors, early life experiences influence child brain development

Cynthia Rogers, MD, visits a baby in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Rogers is helping lead a national study aimed at understanding how prenatal factors and early life experiences influence brain development and behavior in infants and young children.