Amniotic Fluid News and Research

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Impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy and breastfed infants

Pregnant women are among those at high risk of developing COVID-19, as confirmed in Wuhan early in the pandemic. A new study from Portugal published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 analyses the data on the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy and disease outcomes, using published cases of pregnant women diagnosed with the illness.

4 May 2020

Exploring the use of stem cells for COVID-19 disease

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has ravaged across the, infecting more than 3.11 million people in just over four months. As the virus continues to spread, scientists are struggling to find an effective treatment for the infection. Now, a breakthrough discovery on stem cells could help in the battle against COVID-19.

28 Apr 2020

Chinese newborns experienced mild form of COVID-19

A new paper published by Dr. Zhi-Jiang Zhang and colleagues from Wuhan University in the European Respiratory Journal in April 2020 reports that COVID-19 apparently left little impact on newborns born to infected mothers at the height of the epidemic.

9 Apr 2020

Research suggests an avenue to treat, prevent genetic disorders in the womb

New research led by hearing scientists at Oregon Health & Science University suggests an avenue to treat and prevent intractable genetic disorders before birth.

6 Apr 2020

COVID-19 is not transmitted from pregnant mothers to babies, study suggests

Finally, some good news has emerged about the novel coronavirus that has spread to about 50 countries across the world.

16 Mar 2020

Can novel coronavirus affect pregnant women and their babies?

As the new coronavirus (COVID-19) becomes more of a concern for people around the world, fact and myth are increasingly being confused, particularly due to misinformation and unofficial advice being casually shared.

10 Mar 2020

Study finds no evidence of intrauterine vertical transmission of COVID-19 infection

There is currently no evidence that the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) causes severe adverse outcomes in neonates or that it can pass to the child while in the womb, according to a small observational study of women from Wuhan, China, who were in the third trimester of pregnancy and had pneumonia caused by COVID-19.

12 Feb 2020

Renal stem cells can be isolated from urine

Researchers from the Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at the medical faculty of Heinrich Heine University-Duesseldorf under the directorship of Prof. Dr. James Adjaye have developed a protocol for the reproducible isolation and characterization of kidney stem cells, urine-derived renal progenitor cells (UdRPCs) from donors of distinct ages, gender and ethnicity.

4 Feb 2020

Study finds homicide as leading cause of pregnancy-associated death in Louisiana

Homicide is a leading cause of death among pregnant and postpartum women in Louisiana, according to an analysis of birth and death records from 2016 and 2017.

3 Feb 2020

World's first surgical navigation system for fetal surgery developed

The placenta of every expectant mother is located in a different place, its blood vessels are never the same and its connection to the fetus and the umbilical cord also varies from one pregnancy to another.

25 Nov 2019

Acute kidney injury on the rise in hospitalized pregnant women

A study presented at ASN Kidney Week 2019 (November 5 to November 10) shows that the rate of acute kidney injury (AKI) is rising among US women who are hospitalized in pregnancy. The highest risk is in pregnant diabetic women. Women who suffer acute damage to the kidney while pregnant have 260 times the risk of death while in hospital compared to other pregnant women, at 2.6% vs 0.01%. Both mother and baby are at risk of increased illness and death if the woman has kidney injury during pregnancy.

11 Nov 2019

Gut microbiome is a reality in fetal life also

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that in both mice and humans, the fetal gut has its own microbiome, which is probably derived straight from the maternal organism.

24 Oct 2019

Fetal gut has more well-developed immune capabilities than previously thought

Most biology textbooks explain that the fetal immune system is largely undeveloped and that it learns after being exposed to the world at birth. New research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh challenges that paradigm, and provides the first comprehensive look at the immune system of the developing gut.

10 Oct 2019

Study sheds light on the olfactory importance of newborns’ heads in facilitating bonding

A team led by Kobe University Professor Mamiko Ozaki (Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science) has become the first to identify the chemical makeup of the odors produced by newborn babies' heads.

27 Sep 2019

Speech discrimination begins in the womb

New parents are always thrilled when their offspring finally speaks its first words - usually at the age of 12 to 18 months.

30 Jul 2019

Estrogen exposure during fetal life increases autism risk

In a new study, scientists confirmed that babies who are exposed to higher levels of estrogen while they are in the womb are more likely to be autistic. The study titled, 'Foetal oestrogens and autism', is published in the journal, Molecular Psychiatry.

30 Jul 2019