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Black mothers get less treatment for postpartum depression than other moms

Portia Smith’s most vivid memories of her daughter’s first year are of tears. Not the baby’s. Her own.

6 Dec 2019

Rural women experience higher rates pregnancy complications than urban peers

Women in rural communities experience higher rates of life-threatening complications during or after childbirth than mothers in urban cities, a new study finds.

4 Dec 2019

State-of-the-art expert reviews provide insights into vitamin D research

Vitamin D is essential for human health. Although much is known about its important role in bone metabolism and in certain areas of non-skeletal health, there are many open questions and topics of debate.

27 Nov 2019

UIC and IDPH receive $9.5 million grant to improve maternal outcomes in Illinois

A $9.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration will help the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Department of Public Health improve maternal outcomes in Illinois.

18 Nov 2019

Medicaid tweak might offer means to improve U.S. maternal health

When Madavia Johnson gave birth to Donald Ray Dowless III last year, she was hit by a case of severe postpartum anxiety.

13 Nov 2019

'Family Connects' program can reduce the rate of early child abuse investigations

Family Connects, a program where nurses conduct home visits for newborns and their families, is linked to substantial reductions in child maltreatment investigations in children's earliest years, according to new research from Duke University.

11 Nov 2019

Father’s nutritional pattern affects child’s cardiovascular health

While couples often change their lifestyle in order to conceive faster, including crash diets, a new study in mice throws up the possibility that this kind of extreme dietary modification by the father might result in adverse effects on the child conceived in this manner.

17 Oct 2019

Poor paternal diet may impact the heart health of offspring

When trying to get pregnant, couples often change their lifestyles, going on crash diets or taking up stricter exercise regimens. New research, done on mice, suggests that men might be best off avoiding crash diets, as it may affect the heart health of their offspring.

14 Oct 2019

Women being mistreated during childbirth in Ghana, Guinea, Myanmar and Nigeria

A new study led by the World Health Organization (WHO), published in The Lancet on October 9, 2019, reveals that women in four poorer countries are at risk of being ill-treated if they visit hospitals or other medical facilities for childbirth.

10 Oct 2019

Study finds upward trend in number of pregnant women with high blood pressure

The number of women with high blood pressure when they become pregnant or who have it diagnosed during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy has spiked in the United States over the last four decades, especially among black women, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension.

9 Sep 2019

Early planned delivery reduces impact of preterm pre-eclampsia

Doctors have long debated over the optimal time to deliver mothers with pre-eclampsia in late pregnancy (after 34 but before 37 completed weeks). This is because too early delivery compromises the baby’s health, while delayed action may endanger the mother’s health.

29 Aug 2019

Traumatic stress associated with depression risk among Central American immigrant mothers

Traumatic stress is a key factor associated with depression among immigrant mothers from Central America, reports a study in Family and Community Health: The Journal of Health Promotion & Maintenance – part of a special theme issue devoted to "Family Health in Hispanic Communities" that includes guest editors Paul Branscum, PhD, RD, and Daphne C. Hernandez, PhD, MSEd The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

21 Aug 2019

IIASA researchers examine the link between castes and under-five mortality in India

In India, children that belong to disadvantaged castes face a much higher likelihood of not living past their fifth birthday than their counterparts in non-deprived castes.

20 Aug 2019

Study shows how 'natural-killer' cells may help women avoid placental accreta

One of the most dangerous risks expectant mothers face as their delivery date approaches is a surprisingly common condition with a little-known name: placental accreta.

5 Aug 2019

'Dual burden' of prematurity and serious maternal complications occurs in one of 270 births

A quarter of women who have serious maternal complications during childbirth also have premature births, posing a "dual burden" on families, finds research from NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, the University of California, San Francisco California Preterm Birth Initiative, and Stanford University.

17 Jul 2019