Maternal Health News and Research

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Higher income not enough to offset the impact of race on maternal and infant health

While higher income improves maternal and infant health over time, it's not enough to offset the impact of race, according to new University of Michigan research.

28 Feb 2023

Preventative antibiotic given during labor can reduce the risk of sepsis and death

A single oral dose of the antibiotic azithromycin given during labor can dramatically reduce the risk of sepsis and death among women following childbirth, according to a large multi-country clinical trial, as a UN report warns of "stagnation" in maternal health.

23 Feb 2023

Tapping mothers’ and babies’ medical records to better predict prematurity complications

By sifting through electronic health records of moms and babies using a machine-learning algorithm, scientists can predict how at-risk newborns will fare in their first two months of life.

16 Feb 2023

Researchers gain deeper understanding of risk factors associated with low birthweights

Multiple births, a short interval between pregnancies and mothers with a maternal physical or mental health condition are more at risk of having a low birth rate baby according to Swansea University researchers.

15 Feb 2023

HemaChrome wins phase 1 of the NIH's RADx Tech for Maternal Health Challenge

HemaChrome, a digital health startup that uses smartphone technology to noninvasively and instantly measure blood hemoglobin levels, has won phase 1 of the National Institutes of Health's RADx Tech for Maternal Health Challenge.

15 Feb 2023

Part II: The state of the abortion debate 50 years after ‘Roe’

The abortion debate has changed dramatically in the seven months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and its nationwide right to abortion.

27 Jan 2023

Bleeding and in pain, a pregnant woman in Louisiana couldn’t get answers

When Kaitlyn Joshua found out she was pregnant in mid-August, she and her husband, Landon Joshua, were excited to have a second baby on the way. They have a 4-year-old daughter and thought that was just the right age to help with a younger sibling.

12 Jan 2023

Combination therapy could be a safe choice for oral opioid maintenance treatment during pregnancy

Current guidelines recommend that pregnant women with opioid use disorder be prescribed either methadone or buprenorphine, but these drugs too have significant potential for abuse.

11 Jan 2023

Medicaid expansion led to improved postpartum health for low-income birthing people

According to health care experts, the benefits for brand-new parents and their infants having access to health care during pregnancy as well as during the postpartum period are indisputable.

10 Jan 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic's traumatizing effect on mothers in the USA

A new research paper presents the results of a study on maternal stress levels in American mothers during COVID-19.

19 Dec 2022

More states to consider extending postpartum Medicaid coverage beyond two months

New consortium aims to address the impacts of heat exposure on maternal, newborn and child health

A new consortium involving the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has launched to address key knowledge gaps around the quantification and monitoring of the direct and indirect impacts of heat exposure on maternal, newborn and child health.

21 Nov 2022

1 in 10 new moms diagnosed with high blood pressure in the year after childbirth

In an analysis of more than 2,400 women, about 1 in 10 without a history of blood pressure issues were diagnosed with high blood pressure in the year after childbirth, according to a research article published today in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.

15 Nov 2022

Decades-long effort to reduce stillbirth risk in the U.S. has been offset by newly identified risks

A decades-long effort to lower the stillbirth rate in the United States has stalled, as has progress in closing a persistent gap in excess stillbirths experienced by Black women compared with White women, according to a Rutgers-led study.

13 Nov 2022

For Republican candidates, talk about moms and babies is a thorny issue

A month before Election Day, as Republicans in Congress dodged questions about a proposal to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tweeted that he wanted to talk about moms and babies.

4 Nov 2022

Does maternal obesity impact fetal brain development?

In a new study, researchers assessed the impact of maternal obesity on brain development in the fetus.

31 Oct 2022

Study finds persistent disparities in access to prenatal care among pregnant people

Immigrant pregnant people faced persistent inequities in obtaining timely prenatal care as compared with native-born pregnant people in the United States over an eight-year period, a factor that could be contributing to longstanding health disadvantages, according to an analysis published in JAMA Network Open on October 28.

28 Oct 2022

Women in sub-Saharan Africa continue to have higher risk of death following childbirth, analysis shows

Women in sub-Saharan Africa continue to have an elevated risk of death following childbirth long after the 42-day postpartum limit the WHO uses to define pregnancy-related deaths, a new analysis shows.

12 Oct 2022

Extended-release nifedipine could help treat women with severe preeclampsia during labor and delivery

Women with severe preeclampsia (severe high blood pressure) during pregnancy may be treated with extended-release nifedipine, a blood pressure-lowering medicine, daily during the labor and delivery process, according to new research published today in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.

3 Oct 2022

Research on the antimicrobial effects of human milk oligosaccharides

In a recent review published in the journal Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, researchers discussed the latest advances in the antimicrobial properties of human milk.

9 Sep 2022