Prenatal News and Research

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Maternal stress affects fetal brain development

A new study published online January 13, 2020, in the journal JAMA Pediatrics reports that mothers who suffer severe mental stress during pregnancy may have babies with abnormal development in important areas of the brain even before birth. It is already known that babies with congenital heart disease show abnormalities in brain growth and brain biochemical reactions.

13 Jan 2020

Prenatal exposure to flame retardants may increase risk of reading problems

A new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons suggests that prenatal exposure to flame retardants may increase the risk of reading problems.

12 Jan 2020

Missing a key protein in the brain can cause autism-like behaviors

Scientists at Rutgers University-Newark have discovered that when a key protein needed to generate new brain cells during prenatal and early childhood development is missing, part of the brain goes haywire - causing an imbalance in its circuitry that can lead to long-term cognitive and movement behaviors characteristic of autism spectrum disorder.

9 Jan 2020

Poor early life environment leaves permanent mark on adult brain

A severely deprived child may never really recover from the impact of deprivation early in life, finds a new study.

9 Jan 2020

New ACMG Points to Consider document on use of fetal exome sequencing in prenatal care

A new Points to Consider document from the ACMG aims to assist referring physicians, laboratory geneticists, genetic counselors and other medical professionals in understanding the complexity and implications of exome sequencing in prenatal care.

8 Jan 2020

Study: Certain steps can improve pregnancy outcomes in women with rheumatoid arthritis

For women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), taking certain steps to ensure that they have a healthy pregnancy leads to a reduced risk of complicated birth or miscarriage, according to a study in Arthritis Care & Research.

8 Jan 2020

Prenatal phthalate exposure may contribute to deficits in motor function in girls

Scientists at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) have uncovered a link between prenatal exposure to phthalates--a ubiquitous group of plasticizers and odor-enhancing chemicals--and deficits in motor function in girls.

6 Jan 2020

Preterm birth linked to out‐of‐home care placements of children

Children born prematurely, i.e. before week 37, are more likely to be placed outside the home as a supportive child welfare measure than their full-term counterparts, according to a population study conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.

28 Dec 2019

Study explores the impact of Medicaid managed care on obstetrical care and birth outcomes

A new study shows that among a set of disadvantaged women, Medicaid managed care reduces the women's access to high-quality hospital services during pregnancy and delivery and was associated with worse birth outcomes, worse prenatal care, and a higher risk of inappropriate gestational weight gain.

22 Dec 2019

Mother's obesity in pregnancy linked to impaired motor skills and lower IQ in boys

A mother's obesity in pregnancy can affect her child's development years down the road, according to researchers who found impaired motor skills in preschoolers and lower IQ in middle childhood for boys whose mothers were severely overweight while expecting them.

22 Dec 2019

Birth season and heart disease risk – an association?

A new study published in the British Medical Journal December 2019 suggests a novel risk factor for heart disease – the season in which the individual is born. The large study carried out in the US shows that people born in either spring or summer had a significant, though slight, increase in the risk of fatal heart disease, when compared to the autumn-born. Why this should be so is unknown as of now.

19 Dec 2019

From clinic to courtroom, fighting for immigrant health care

Jane Garcia started as an intern at La Clínica de La Raza in the late 1970s, attracted by its mission to provide health care to all — especially immigrants, regardless of their legal status or ability to pay.

19 Dec 2019

Seafood consumption and mercury concentrations in vulnerable coastal Florida population

Mercury contamination of the marine environment is a global public health concern. Human exposure occurs primarily by eating seafood, especially large predatory fish such as swordfish and albacore tuna.

16 Dec 2019

Perinatal exposure of rats to flame retardants changes the liver epigenome

Studies have shown that perinatal exposure of rats and mice to common flame retardants found in household items permanently reprograms liver metabolism, often leading later in life to insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

13 Dec 2019

Study reports case-specific monetary estimates for childhood illness linked to air pollution

A new study by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health is the first to compile the estimated per-case costs of six childhood health conditions linked to air pollution--estimates that can be incorporated into benefits assessments of air pollution regulations and climate change mitigation policies.

12 Dec 2019

New insights into the most perplexing medical mysteries associated with schizophrenia

Four unsolved mysteries around schizophrenia have long plagued the medical community, but a new hypothesis identifying a common link between them and an almost forgotten epidemic of a disease called pellagra could have profound implications for our understanding of psychosis in poorer nations.

12 Dec 2019

Mice study shows the impact of taking antidepressants during pregnancy

Exposure to antidepressants during pregnancy and the first weeks of life can alter sensory processing well into adulthood, according to research in mice recently published in eNeuro.

From Society for Neuroscience 11 Dec 2019

Incentive-based smoking cessation interventions significantly reduce infant morbidity

Colorado is taking a critical step to protect low-income women during their pregnancy through incentive-based smoking cessation interventions. A new study from the Colorado School of Public Health at the Anschutz Medical Campus shows a significant reduction in infant morbidity due to the program.

6 Dec 2019

Prenatal and early life exposure to air pollutants associated with toddler allergies

A new article in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology shows a significant association between multiple prenatal and early life exposures to indoor pollutants and the degree of allergic sensitivity in 2-year-olds.

5 Dec 2019

Perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure may impair lung development in premature infants

New research in mice suggests that exposure to antibiotics before birth may impair lung development in premature infants. The study, the first to explore the gut-lung axis in prematurity, is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology and was chosen as an APSselect article for December.