Prenatal News and Research

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Study finds improvements in survival and neurodevelopment of preterm babies

Babies born at just 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy continue to have sobering outlooks -- only about 1 in 3 survive.

16 Feb 2017

Low birth weight babies more likely to experience mental health problems later in life, research finds

Babies born with extremely low birth weight are not only at risk for physical problems but are also more likely to experience mental health problems later in life, according to an analysis of research conducted over nearly 30 years.

13 Feb 2017

X-ray helps identify atomic composition of micronutrients in human brain organoids

Micronutrients and minerals play a key role during human fetal development. A study published in PeerJ this week describes the composition and distribution of some elements in human minibrains created in the lab.

13 Feb 2017

URMC researchers discover how omega 3 fatty acids in fish oil could be used for asthma patients

University of Rochester Medical Center scientists have discovered new essential information about omega 3 fatty acids contained in fish oil and how they could be used for asthma patients.

9 Feb 2017

New study sheds light on how prenatal BPA exposure increases obesity risk

An expectant mother's exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) can raise her offspring's risk of obesity by reducing sensitivity to a hormone responsible for controlling appetite, according to a mouse study published in the Endocrine Society's journal Endocrinology.

8 Feb 2017

Transporters of thyroid hormones play key role in development of the brain, study finds

Thyroid hormones are very important for the development of the brain. And when the transporters of these hormones are not functioning properly, the consequences for the development of the cerebellum or 'the little brain' are very serious.

6 Feb 2017

Maternal stress can affect growth of fetal muscles, study shows

Born too soon, she weighed just over 1 pound at birth and spent the first three months of her life in the neonatal intensive care unit, fighting to live.

6 Feb 2017

Study supports clinical utility of DNA-based prenatal blood test in all pregnant women

A DNA-based prenatal blood test used to screen pregnancies for Down syndrome and similar chromosome abnormalities in high-risk women has moved a step closer to use in the general pregnancy population.

From Natera 3 Feb 2017

Illumina debuts new software to optimize data analysis for noninvasive prenatal testing

Illumina, Inc. today announced that it has declared conformity with the requirements of the IVD Directive and has applied the CE mark to an expanded VeriSeq NIPT Analysis Software for clinical laboratories in the European Union (EU).

From Illumina, Inc. 3 Feb 2017

Scientists decode genetic profile of rare inherited disorder that can cause genital ambiguity

A complete clinical and genetic profile of a rare inherited disorder, steroid 11-hydroxylase deficiency, which can cause genital masculinization in females, is being reported by an international group of researchers led by investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

30 Jan 2017

Prenatal infection-induced epigenetic modifications may alter brain development in offspring

Maternal infection during pregnancy increases the risk for psychiatric disorders in the child, but the path between the two is something of a mystery.

25 Jan 2017

In utero environment can impact brain development, study shows

A new study shows that what happens to a fetus in the womb can affect the brain later in life.

25 Jan 2017

Hypertensive disease of pregnancy linked to higher risk for early mortality

In a study to be presented Friday, Jan. 27, in the oral plenary session at 8 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, researchers with University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Intermountain Healthcare and the Huntsman Cancer Institute (all in Salt Lake City, Utah), will present the study, Long-term mortality risk and life expectancy following recurrent hypertensive disease of pregnancy.

23 Jan 2017

Fetal genomic sequencing could enhance detection rate of genetic findings, study shows

In a study to be presented Thursday, Jan. 26, in the oral plenary session at 8 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, researchers with the Columbia University Medical Center in New York found that, in preliminary data, fetal genomic (whole exome) sequencing (WES) as a diagnostic test for women with pregnancies complicated by major fetal congenital anomalies increased the detection rate of genetic findings by between 10 to 30 percent.

23 Jan 2017

Popularity of non-invasive prenatal testing increasing among pregnant women

Genetic counselors are playing a greater role in areas of medicine in the wake of advancement in genomic technology.

19 Jan 2017

UC biologists use frog models to study how early stressors may play role in onset of adult diseases

UC biologists have turned to amphibian sources -- specifically frogs and tadpoles -- to help shed light on how early stressors in the womb and shortly after birth may play a part in the onset of adult diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

19 Jan 2017

Natural antioxidant can protect offspring of obese mice from NAFLD, study shows

A common antioxidant found in human breast milk and foods like kiwi fruit can protect against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the offspring of obese mice, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

4 Jan 2017

New study finds overuse of hospital ICUs

Intensive Care Units, which provide the most expensive and invasive forms of care in a hospital setting, are being used too often for patients who don't need that level of care, according to a new study by LA BioMed and UCLA researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine today.

28 Dec 2016

New study finds rise in past-month marijuana use among reproductive-aged women

A new study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that the prevalence of past-month marijuana use among reproductive-aged women rose from 2.4 percent in 2002 to 3.9 percent in 2014, an increase of 62 percent.

20 Dec 2016

Zika-linked abnormalities in fetuses more extensive and severe than previously thought

New UCLA-led research finds that Zika-linked abnormalities that occur in human fetuses are more extensive — and severe — than previously thought, with 46 percent of 125 pregnancies among Zika-infected women resulting in birth defects in newborns or ending in fetal death.

16 Dec 2016