Birth Weight News and Research

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Americans and their babies are gaining more body fat: Study

A new study has found for the first time that as Americans are gaining more body fat, so are their babies. The research, which reviewed data from more than 74,000 births, found that a key measure of body fat composition in newborns increased significantly over a 15-year period, mirroring similar increases among pregnant mothers. The findings were presented Sunday by researchers from Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting.

5 May 2010

Eight states to receive grants for local health programs

Pregnant women in eight states will receive prenatal services and education from the March of Dimes, thanks to a $313,000 grant from the WellPoint Foundation, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization wholly funded by WellPoint, Inc.

5 May 2010

Study highlights high prevalence of GDM during pregnancy

Living in a food-insecure household during pregnancy may increase the odds of greater weight gain and pregnancy complications, particularly gestational diabetes mellitus, according to a new study published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

4 May 2010

Implementation of quality improvement intervention reduces medication use in premature babies: Study

A new study by Pediatrix Medical Group researchers has found that the implementation of a quality improvement intervention significantly reduces the use of a large number of medications in premature babies across a broad neonatal intensive care network.

3 May 2010

Study finds WIC program has moderate effect on birth outcomes, but more research is needed

A new study that looked at the effect of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to determine the effect on various birth outcomes found that the overall effects were only moderate.

29 Apr 2010

Tamiflu and two other drugs used to treat influenza appear safe for pregnant women and babies: Study

Tamiflu and two other drugs used to treat influenza appear safe for pregnant women and their babies, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a retrospective study of 239 cases of women who received the medications during pregnancy.

28 Apr 2010

Breast Cancer Research: Thinner girls may be at higher risk of breast cancer

Thinner girls may be at higher risk of breast cancer. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research found that girls who were leaner at age seven were at higher risk of cancer later in life.

15 Apr 2010

UNC Charlotte researcher improves lives of families and children affected by birth defects

Birth defects remain a leading cause of death in the first year of life. According to the March of Dimes, every 3 to 4 minutes a baby is born with a birth defect in the United States. About 1 in every 33 infants is affected by birth defects.

8 Apr 2010

Researchers discover two genetic regions that influence birth weight

New research uncovers two genetic regions that influence birth weight. One of the regions is also associated with type 2 diabetes, which helps to explain why small babies have higher rates of diabetes in later life.

8 Apr 2010

Study: Reduced birth weight may lower risk of obesity later in life

According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, regular moderate-intensity aerobic exercise led to a modest reduction in offspring birth weight without restricting the development of maternal insulin resistance.

5 Apr 2010

Bailout stenting successful treatment for infants with constricted aortas

Cardiac interventionalists and surgeons at University Clinic in Leuven, Belgium have achieved successful stent implantation and follow-up coarctectomy in premature infants suffering from aortic coarctation. Full findings are published in the March issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, the official journal of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

18 Mar 2010

Obesity and passive smoking are risk factors for elevated umbilical cord neonatal immature

Babies born to mothers with obesity and exposed to passive smoking are more likely to have health problems than others. This conclusion is based on evidence of elevated levels of nucleated red blood cells in the umbilical cord reported in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health.

17 Mar 2010

Study reveals comparable fertility rates between UFE and surgical myomectomy

Uterine fibroid embolization, a minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure that blocks blood supply to treat painful uterine fibroids, has a comparable fertility rate to myomectomy, the surgical removal of uterine fibroids, for women who want to conceive, according to the first study on the subject released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

16 Mar 2010

Flu infection during pregnancy may increase risk of schizophrenia in offspring

Rhesus monkey babies born to mothers who had the flu while pregnant had smaller brains and showed other brain changes similar to those observed in human patients with schizophrenia, a study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found.

12 Mar 2010

Researchers take first step in development of vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria

By managing to express the protein that enables red blood cells infected with the malaria agent Plasmodium falciparum to bind to the placenta and by deciphering its molecular mechanisms, a team of researchers from CNRS and the Institut Pasteur has taken an important first step in the development of a vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria.

10 Mar 2010

RWJF awards $480,000 grant to improve clinical care for low-weight babies

Researchers at UC Irvine and the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) will monitor the day-to-day health of low-birth-weight babies and their parents as part of a comprehensive initiative designed to combat chronic illnesses associated with low-weight births.

5 Mar 2010

Embedded wireless sensors in senior's homes to detect onset of dementia or physical infirmities

Carnegie Mellon University researchers in the Quality of Life Technology Center (QoLTC) will embed wireless sensors in the residences of about 50 older adults who live alone to see if they can detect subtle changes in everyday activities that indicate the onset of dementia or physical infirmities.

4 Mar 2010

Study on role of recorded ODLs in improving clinical care for low-weight babies: RWJF awards $480,000 grant

Researchers at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science and UC Irvine will monitor the day-to-day health of low-birth-weight babies and their parents as part of a comprehensive initiative designed to combat chronic illnesses associated with low-weight births.

4 Mar 2010

Merck’s MF/F Phase III study data presented at AAAAI annual meeting

Data from two Phase III studies of Merck’s investigational fixed-dose combinations of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate (MF/F) were presented by researchers today in two poster presentations at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting.

3 Mar 2010

Prenatal cocaine exposure affects sustained attention and self-regulated behavior in children

Children exposed to cocaine in the womb face serious consequences from the drug, but fortunately not in certain critical physical and cognitive areas as previously believed, according to a new comprehensive review of research on the subject from scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. When a pregnant woman uses cocaine, it can interrupt the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the baby, putting such children at risk for premature birth, low birth weight and many other problems.

2 Mar 2010