Congenital Anomaly News and Research

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Fear of childbirth puts women at higher risk of postpartum depression

Expectant women with prenatally diagnosed fear of childbirth are at an increased risk of postpartum depression, according to a study of over 500,000 mothers in Finland. Women with a history of depression are at the highest risk of postpartum depression.

3 Jan 2014

Consanguineous marriages and older mothers increase risk of birth anomalies in children

Marriage between first cousins can more than double the risk of giving birth to a baby with a congenital anomaly (eg, heart and lung defects, Down syndrome), although the absolute risk is low, according to a multiethnic study of more than 11300 babies from the city of Bradford in the UK, published in The Lancet.

5 Jul 2013

Euro-Peristat project releases second European Perinatal Health Report

The European Perinatal Health Report released by the Euro-Peristat project is the most comprehensive report on the health and care of pregnant women and babies in Europe and brings together data from 2010 from 26 European Union member states, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

1 Jun 2013

Congenital anomaly prevalence should spark ART policy change

Assisted reproductive technology may be associated with the increased proportion of multiple birth infants affected by congenital abnormalities since the 1980s, European research suggests.

12 Feb 2013

Congenital anomaly clusters may be going undetected in UK

A lack of national surveillance of congenital anomalies in England and Wales may lead to clusters of congenital conditions going unnoticed, say UK researchers.

6 Aug 2012

Genetic underpinnings of Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome identified

Researchers have identified a genetic underpinning of Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome.

23 Jul 2012

Brain cell destroying genetic mechanism responsible for development of AD

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have discovered that the genetic mechanism which destroys brain cells is responsible for early development of Alzheimer's Disease in people with Down Syndrome and for development of Alzheimer's Disease in general population - providing a potential new target for drugs that could forestall dementia in people with either condition.

13 Jan 2011

Hydrocephalus in Ugandan children linked to farm animals, previous bacterial infection

Hydrocephalus in Ugandan children and other developing countries is seasonal, linked to farm animals and in part, caused by previous bacterial infection, according to an international team of researchers from Uganda and the United States, who believe that the best approach to this problem is prevention.

3 Jan 2011

Research looks at drop in delivery-related rate of death for infants born at term

During about the last 20 years, the risk of delivery-related death at birth or shortly thereafter for term infants has decreased nearly 40 percent in Scotland, with the largest contributing factor being a decrease in the number of deaths caused by a lack of oxygen for the baby during the childbirth process, according to a study in the August 12 issue of JAMA.

12 Aug 2009

Obesity during pregnancy associated with increased risk of birth defects

For women who are obese during pregnancy there is an associated increased risk of certain birth defects, such as spina bifida and neural tube defects, although the absolute increase in risk is likely to be small, according to an analysis of previous studies, reported in the February 11 issue of JAMA.

10 Feb 2009