Prenatal News and Research

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Modifiable risk factors in the first 1000 days of life predict higher adiposity and cardiometabolic risk

Early life risk factors in the first 1000 days cumulatively predict higher obesity and cardiometabolic risk in early adolescence, according to new research led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.

16 Nov 2020

Exposure to air pollution during fetal period, early life linked with higher blood pressure

Exposure to an urban environment characterized by high levels of air pollution and noise in areas with a high building density during the fetal period and in early childhood may contribute to higher blood pressure.

12 Nov 2020

Adolescent boys have higher mortality due to unintentional injury, interpersonal violence

A new study on gender equality in health and wellbeing in the Asia Pacific region calls for greater attention to be paid to excess mortality and health risks experienced by boys in the first 20 years of life.

9 Nov 2020

Mothers' vitamin D levels during pregnancy positively associated with their children's IQ

Vitamin D is a critical nutrient and has many important functions in the body. A mother's vitamin D supply is passed to her baby in utero and helps regulate processes including brain development.

2 Nov 2020

The Trump Medicaid record: Big goals, yet few successes

President Donald Trump entered office seeking a massive overhaul of the Medicaid program, which had just experienced the biggest growth spurt in its 50-year history.

29 Oct 2020

Brigham researchers identify possible subtypes of preeclampsia

Preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure, occurs in about 7 percent of pregnancies and is a leading cause of maternal mortality and premature birth.

21 Oct 2020

Study: E-cigarettes may not be a safer alternative to smoking during pregnancy

E-cigarettes might not be a safer alternative to smoking during pregnancy, according to the first known study into the effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on babies.

16 Oct 2020

Research shows choroid plexus can act as a conduit for prenatal inflammation

Floating in fluid deep in the brain are small, little understood fronds of tissue. Two new studies reveal that these miniature organs are a hotbed of immune system activity.

9 Oct 2020

Exome sequencing sheds light on genetic causes of nonimmune hydrops fetalis

A new study by University of California researchers shows the promise of high-throughput DNA-sequencing technologies to improve prenatal diagnosis and pregnancy outcomes for women who have experienced an abnormal prenatal ultrasound.

8 Oct 2020

High levels of folic acid during pregnancy could harm brain development of embryos

A UC Davis MIND Institute study of pregnant mice found that high amounts of folic acid during pregnancy harmed the brain development of embryos. Researchers say the findings indicate that more investigation is needed about the best recommended dosage for pregnant women.

5 Oct 2020

Low levels of prenatal alcohol consumption can affect child's brain development

New research from the University of Sydney finds that even low levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy can have an impact on a child's brain development and is associated with greater psychological and behavioral problems in youth including anxiety, depression and poor attention.

25 Sep 2020

Maternal gut microbiota can promote healthy fetal brain development

During pregnancy in mice, the billions of bacteria and other microbes that live in a mother's intestines regulate key metabolites, small molecules that are important for healthy fetal brain development, UCLA biologists report Sept. 23 in the journal Nature.

24 Sep 2020

Prenatal cannabis exposure may increase risk for psychopathology in middle childhood

While cannabis use during pregnancy is on the rise, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found evidence that the resulting children are more likely to have psychopathology in middle childhood.

23 Sep 2020

Black women turn to midwives to avoid COVID and ‘feel cared for’

From the moment she learned she was pregnant late last year, TaNefer Camara knew she didn't want to have her baby in a hospital bed.

17 Sep 2020

Mother's high-fat diet may lead to more sweet-taste receptors in offspring

Cornell food scientists show in animal studies that a mother's high-fat diet may lead to more sweet-taste receptors and a greater attraction to unhealthy food in their offspring - resulting in poor feeding behavior, obesity in adulthood.

12 Sep 2020

Scientists shed new light on gene regulatory pathways activated by stress hormone

Scientists have long known that chronic stress experienced early in life, or even chronic prenatal exposure to maternal stress hormones in the womb, can shorten lifespan and contribute to age-related chronic diseases like arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even mental illness later in life -- long after the source of stress has been removed.

9 Sep 2020

COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to child and maternal health services, show surveys

With the number of under-five deaths at an all-time recorded low of 5.2 million in 2019, disruptions in child and maternal health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic are putting millions of additional lives at stake

9 Sep 2020

Improving COVID-19 diagnosis

News-Medical spoke to Yourgene health on their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they developed a diagnostic test for COVID-19.

From Yourgene Health 3 Sep 2020

Online health technology can close the gap on racial disparities

New research from Boston Medical Center highlights the benefits of using health technology to engage African American and Black women earlier in preconception care in an effort to close the gap on racial disparities in birth outcomes and maternal mortality.

26 Aug 2020

Researchers identify genetic risk factors that increase risk of bipolar disorder in people with depression

In a new study from the Danish psychiatry project iPSYCH, researchers have identified genetic risk factors for developing bipolar disorder and psychoses among people with depression.

25 Aug 2020