Obstetrics News and Research

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Gynecology and obstetrics are twin subjects that deal with the female reproductive system. While obstetrics deals with pregnancy and its associated procedures and complications, gynaecology involves treating women who are not pregnant.

Obese women more likely to have pregnancy complications and caesarean sections than women of average weight

The controlled study is one of the largest ever to look at obesity in pregnancy, following more than 16,000 pregnant women at 14 medical centers across the country.

20 May 2004

25% of women in many countries voluntarily take folic acid tablets before conception

By taking folic acid before pregnancy or during the first few weeks after conception, women can markedly lower the risk of neural tube defects in their offspring; the defects commonly manifest themselves as a debilitating health condition known as spina bifida. The neural tube is fully developed 22 to 28 days after conception

19 May 2004

Father's sperm packs more than just a fertilizer

The major function of a man's sperm was fertilization, scientists once thought. True, sperm contains the father's chromosomes; but new studies from Wayne State University show that RNAs critically important to early growth of an embryo are also delivered.

13 May 2004

Female testosterone patch significantly increased satisfying sexual activity and desire

Data from a landmark Phase III safety and efficacy study of 562 women showed treatment with an investigational female testosterone patch significantly increased satisfying sexual activity and desire in patients with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), who previously had both ovaries removed. HSDD is defined as a lack of sexual desire that causes a woman personal distress.

6 May 2004

Protein in the male reproductive tract is a potent anti-bacterial agent

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that a protein they discovered three years ago in the male reproductive tract is a potent anti-bacterial agent.

6 May 2004

Cervical Dysplasia treatment linked to water breaking too early

Two treatments for removing precancerous tissue from the cervix are associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery (delivery before 37 weeks gestation) caused by the pregnancy complication known as preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM).

5 May 2004

New screening helps to determine risk for having a baby with Down syndrome

Obstetricians at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, are offering a new, quicker, option for pregnant women who choose to undergo first trimester screening. The screening helps to determine whether the woman is at increased risk for having a baby with Down syndrome.

5 May 2004

Thomson launches new online medical education portal

The Thomson Corporation, a provider of scientific and healthcare information solutions, announced today that it has developed a new online medical education portal.

5 May 2004

Space technology may help fertility of a woman with cancer

Using technology borrowed from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), scientists at the University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine have taken the first steps toward successfully preserving ovarian tissue from rats and mice in culture, including immature egg follicles, according to a study in the current issue of the journal Tissue Engineering.

29 Apr 2004

WHO calls for Sudan humanitarian assistance

Intensified and urgent action is needed in the Greater Darfur Region of western Sudan to address one of the most severe humanitarian emergencies today. Given the current situation, the humanitarian crisis will last several months.

23 Apr 2004

Infertile couples may be unaware of multiple birth risks

Multiple births -- twins, triplets or more babies in one pregnancy -- have more risks of infant death and long-term disabilities such as cerebral palsy than births of single babies do. However, many couples seeking infertility treatments desire multiples and have poor knowledge particularly about the risks for twins, a University of Iowa study reported.

20 Apr 2004

Possible new treatment strategy for Alzheimer's disease

A new study in mice identifies one of the missing steps in how Alzheimer's develops and suggests a possible new treatment strategy, according to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical College and their colleagues.

16 Apr 2004

Small uterine fibroids are associated with an increased risk of miscarriage

Early results from a pioneering study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicate that small uterine fibroids are associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.

13 Apr 2004

NZ Research helps difficult pregnancies

Before the 1960's knowledge of the intrauterine environment was like a black box, limiting clinical understanding, and monitoring of the fetus during pregnancy. Little was known about the fetus until after birth happened. Now that has changed dramatically, and there have been revolutionary advances, particularly in the last 20 years enabling clinicians to diagnose and treat problems which develop in the womb.

13 Apr 2004

VCU Medical Center goes high definition

The startlingly clear images displayed by high definition televisions have attracted the attention of sports enthusiasts, movie fanatics, and video gamers. Now some surgeons at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center are among the first in the country to use the technology to gain extraordinary views of the human anatomy.

12 Apr 2004

New study could lead to new drugs to prevent premature birth

Dr Raheela Khan, of the University’s Academic Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology based at the newly-opened University of Nottingham Medical School at Derby, is working with colleagues Dr Balwir Matharoo-Ball and Dr Dave Barratt in the University’s School of Pharmacy on the research looking at what makes some women go into labour before their baby is due.

6 Apr 2004

Penn State Hershey Medical Center awaits arrival of hospital's first sextuplets

The team of Penn State women's health obstetricians and Penn State Children's Hospital neonatologists at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center are preparing for the arrival of the first set of sextuplets in the medical center's 34-year history.

5 Apr 2004

Carbon Dioxide may be used in medical implants

Carbon dioxide, an environmentally friendly solvent for dyeing and dry cleaning, may become a valuable new tool for making medical implants, according to a study at Ohio State University.

23 Mar 2004

Research suggests protein released from lungs could initiate labour

A protein released from the lungs of a developing mouse fetus initiates a cascade of chemical events leading to the mother's initiation of labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found.

22 Mar 2004

Decreased collagen may make women more susceptible to pelvic organ prolapse

Decreased collagen levels might make some women more susceptible to pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence, according to a new study by physicians at Temple University School of Medicine and Temple University Hospital. The study, “Collagen content of nonsupport tissue in pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence,” appears in a recent issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

22 Mar 2004