In Utero News and Research

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Longer looks: Research shows intriguing link between women abused in childhood and low-birthweight infants; tea party efforts to move health programs to states

Increasingly, a whole body of research indicates what happens early in childhood — even in utero — affects the rest of your life. Now, a new study reinforces that perspective, finding that women who were abused as children stand a greater chance of delivering low-birthweight babies.

1 Apr 2011

First open fetal surgery to treat lung malformations performed at Texas Children's Hospital

Experts from Texas Children's Fetal Center published a study that appears in volume 46, issue 2 of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery documenting the first successful cases of open fetal surgery to treat fetal lung malformations in the Southern U.S.

28 Mar 2011

Mother's gene variation can influence alcohol-related disorders in fetus

Exposure to alcohol in the womb doesn't affect all fetuses equally. Why does one woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy give birth to a child with physical, behavioral or learning problems -- known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -- while another woman who also drinks has a child without these problems?

24 Mar 2011

Low ghrelin levels in obese women may affect reproduction in female progeny

Levels of the hormone ghrelin are low in obese women and a recent study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society, reports that mice whose mothers had low ghrelin levels were less fertile due to a defect in implantation.

24 Mar 2011

Research links giftedness to prenatal exposure of testosterone

A longstanding debate as to whether genius is a byproduct of good genes or good environment has an upstart challenger that may take the discussion in an entirely new direction. University of Alberta researcher Marty Mrazik says being bright may be due to an excess level of a natural hormone.

14 Mar 2011

Government Department of BIS awards £28.5 million to UK-wide study of babies and young children

The largest ever UK-wide study of babies and young children today received a landmark £28.5 million commitment from the Government Department of Business Innovation and Skills.

2 Mar 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

Seven-year study demonstrates clear benefits of fetal surgery to treat spina bifida in babies

Results of a landmark, seven-year National Institutes of Health-funded trial, Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), demonstrate clear benefit for babies who undergo fetal surgery to treat spina bifida, the most common birth defect in the central nervous system.

11 Feb 2011

New study: Fetal surgery for spina bifida greatly improves child's mobility

Performing delicate surgery in the womb, months before birth, can substantially improve outcomes for children with a common, disabling birth defect of the spine. Experts at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia co-led a new landmark study showing that fetal surgery for spina bifida greatly reduces the need to divert fluid from the brain, improves mobility and improves the chances that a child will be able to walk independently.

9 Feb 2011

Prenatal exposure to coal byproducts can impact early childhood growth

Children raised in homes using indoor coal for cooking or heating appear to be about a half-inch shorter at age 36 months than those in households using other fuel sources, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

Survey finds most hospitals, birthing centers do not routinely screen for congenital heart defects

Only about two out of every 100 babies (1.8 percent) were screened at birth for congenital heart defects (CHDs) because the hospital or birthing center where the baby was born routinely screens all newborns for CHDs -- the number-one birth defect and leading killer of infants and newborns. This is according to a survey just released by Little Hearts, Inc., a national organization that provides support, education, resources, networking and hope to families affected by congenital heart defects.

8 Feb 2011

New study links vitamin D deficiency with deficits in altered lung structure and function

Previously linked to the severity of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in humans, vitamin D deficiency has now been shown to alter lung structure and function in young mice. The new study, conducted by researchers in Australia, offers the first concrete evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with deficits in lung function and altered lung structure.

28 Jan 2011

Odors in womb sensitize fetus to smells, alters brain development

A major new study shows that a pregnant mother's diet not only sensitizes the fetus to those smells and flavors, but physically changes the brain directly impacting what the infant eats and drinks in the future.

1 Dec 2010

Laboratories obtain satisfactory scores in measuring heavy metals: Study

A new study which benchmarks the abilities of laboratories around the world to measure heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, methylmercury and inorganic arsenic) in seafood has been published today by the Joint Research Centre.

25 Nov 2010

Heartburn drugs safe in pregnancy: Study

Pregnancy brings about a lot of heartburn sometimes beginning in the first trimester and continuing until delivery. To date the drugs available for general use in heartburn called proton-pump inhibitors or PPIs were wrought with safety concerns during pregnancy.

24 Nov 2010

UC Berkeley receives $16.5 million to support three research centers to examine children's health

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health are getting $16.5 million to support three research centers as part of a federal initiative to examine the environmental factors influencing children's health.

18 Nov 2010

Low levels of growth hormone may contribute to growth defects in cystic fibrosis

A new study using a pig model of cystic fibrosis (CF) suggests that low levels of a growth promoting hormone at or before birth may contribute to growth defects in patients with CF.

10 Nov 2010

Article shows link between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy, SIDS

The link between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome may relate to the negative effects of nicotine on the development of brain centers that regulate breathing, according to an article in the recent issue of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

10 Nov 2010

Exposure to several AEDs in the womb negatively affect child's neurodevelopment

A large population-based study revealed that multiple antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) used by pregnant women to control seizures may cause poor school performance in their teenagers. The research team from Karolinska University Hospital and the University of Lund in Sweden confirmed that exposure to AEDs in utero may have a negative effect on neurodevelopment.

4 Nov 2010

Taller kids with IVF: Study

A new study has found that children born via IVF are typically taller than those born naturally. Newborn IVF babies created from a fresh embryo transferred back into the mother, also tended to be about 190g lighter than naturally conceived children.

13 Oct 2010