Womb News and Research

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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.

Maternal beef consumption associated with lower sperm concentration

New research has shown that women who ate a lot of beef while pregnant had sons who were more likely to suffer from poor sperm quality as adults, and it suggests that the growth promoters used in cattle may play a role in these men's reduced fertility.

2 Apr 2007

Treating congenital heart defects in babies still in the womb

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital reviewed the cases of 80 fetuses who had prenatal cardiac interventions during a six-year period (most often to avert hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

30 Mar 2007

Mother's high beef consumption while pregnant associated with lower sperm counts in her son

Researchers sought to examine the relationship between semen quality and long-term risks from growth hormones and other chemicals in beef.

28 Mar 2007

Giuliani does not mention abortion rights at Conservative conference

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., "position[ed] themselves as allies" to conservatives despite their "mixed" records on issues such as abortion rights and stem cell research, the Los Angeles Times reports.

5 Mar 2007

Preemie lung treatments turn out to be safe

Preemies between 28 and 32 weeks are not harmed by a treatment no longer used to help their lungs mature before birth, according to findings of a study in this month's Pediatrics.

5 Mar 2007

New breast cancer drug Exemestane shows great potential to save lives

In what will be welcome news to millions of women suffering from breast cancer, trials of a new drug have found it lowers oestrogen levels in women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer and has the potential to save more than 1,000 lives a year in the UK alone.

13 Feb 2007

After age 40 pregnant mums have three times the risk of stillbirth

According to researchers at Yale School of Medicine in the United States, women who have a baby when they are aged 40 or over are three times more likely to experience a stillbirth.

12 Feb 2007

Current arguments for reform of UK Abortion Act

The 40th anniversary in October this year of the passing of the UK Abortion Act is certain to be marked by attempts to reopen the debate about lowering the upper limit for legal terminations. In a special report in this week's British Medical Journal, journalist Jonathan Gornall examines current arguments for reform.

11 Feb 2007

FoxOs shown to be potential new targets for cancer drugs

In an elegant, multiple-gene knockout experiment, a team of Boston scientists has discovered that a trio of molecules, called FoxOs, are fundamentally critical in preventing some cancers, maintaining blood vessel stability, and in keeping blood-forming stem cells healthy.

29 Jan 2007

Oral contraceptives and IUDs protect against endometrial cancer

According to a new study by researchers in the U.S., oral contraceptives and intrauterine devices (IUD) appear to provide long-term protection against endometrial cancer.

22 Nov 2006

IVF success compromised by heavy smoking

Fertility experts say the women who are heavy smokers are less likely to become pregnant through IVF treatment, even when donated eggs are used.

13 Nov 2006

Birth of conjoined twins a medical and practical challenge

Another set of conjoined twins are expected to be born this week in Canada.

25 Oct 2006

Do the risks of eating fish outweigh the benefits? Yes or No

Fish is high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. But concerns have been raised in recent years about chemicals found in fish from environmental pollution, including mercury, PCBs and dioxins. That has led to confusion among the public--do the risks of eating fish outweigh the benefits?

17 Oct 2006

Colombian cardinal threatens physicians who perform abortions with excommunication

A Colombian news report on Tuesday "sparked controversy" after reporting that a Vatican official threatened to excommunicate physicians who perform abortions in the country, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 8/30).

4 Sep 2006

How safe is drug which prevents pre-term births? FDA will soon find out

Questions have been raised in the U.S. over the safety and effectiveness of a hormone based drug which is used in women who have a history of pre-term births.

29 Aug 2006

Drug given to stop miscarriages doubles breast cancer risk for daughters

Scientists in the U.S. have found that the daughters of women who took a common anti-miscarriage drug during pregnancy may be facing twice the the normal risk of developing breast cancer.

8 Aug 2006

Examination not sensitive enough to detect breech babies

The routine examination doctors use to check if a baby is lying in the correct position before birth is not sensitive enough, concludes a study published on bmj.com today.

3 Aug 2006

$26 billion dollar bill for prem babies each year

According to experts one in every eight babies now is born prematurely and they are calling for earlier ultrasound examinations during pregnancy and tighter guidelines for infertility treatment as essential in the battle to control what they say is a growing problem.

17 Jul 2006

Women who harbor multiple HPV type infections are at higher risk for cervical lesions

The risk for developing the tissue abnormalities, or lesions, that typically precede cervical cancer is much higher for women infected with multiple genotypes of the human papillomavirus (HPV) than previously reported.

10 Jul 2006