Prenatal News and Research

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Study reveals multiple ultrasound scans are more pronounced in low-risk pregnancies

Current use of prenatal ultrasounds in women with singleton pregnancies is 55% greater than in 1996, even in low-risk pregnancies. More than one-third (37%) of pregnant women now receive 3 or more ultrasound tests in the second and third trimesters of a given pregnancy, found an article http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj090979.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.

6 Jan 2010

Perturbing DISC1 gene could help researchers treat mental illness, says study

Scientists have long eyed mutations in a gene known as DISC1 as a possible contributor to schizophrenia and mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder. Now, new research led by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that perturbing this gene during prenatal periods, postnatal periods or both may have different effects in mice, leading to separate types of brain alterations and behaviors with resemblance to schizophrenia or mood disorders.

6 Jan 2010

New study reveals choline plays a critical role in fetal brain development

If you're pregnant and looking for an excuse to eat bacon and eggs, now you've got one: a new research study published in the January 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) by a team of University of North Carolina researchers shows that choline plays a critical role in helping fetal brains develop regions associated with memory. Choline is found in meats, including pork, as well as chicken eggs.

5 Jan 2010

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia SDU delivers babies prenatally diagnosed with complex birth defects

More than 240 babies born in 2009 in the Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit (SDU) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia are ringing in 2010 with their joyful families. Families from 24 states traveled to Children's Hospital for expert prenatal, delivery and postnatal care for their babies.

30 Dec 2009

Ultimate reference guides offers fitness and nutrition tips

The days of needing an overpriced trainer to get the body you have always envisioned are now in the past. Adam Campbell, Fitness Director for Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines, has developed dozens of fitness plans that he has compiled into two books – The Men’s Health Big Book of Exercises and The Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises.

23 Dec 2009

More than 1,000 medical images donated for use in YOU! The Experience

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Department of Radiology donated more than 1,000 medical images to the Museum of Science and Industry for use in YOU! The Experience, a new 15,000-square-foot permanent exhibit that showcases the connection between mind, body and spirit.

22 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: Hospital births in Guinea-Bissau; drought in E. Africa; drug-resistant malaria; U.S. response to H1N1

IRIN examines the increase in the number of women giving birth in hospital settings rather than delivery by a traditional birth attendant - a behavior that health officials hope will lead to a drop in the country's maternal mortality rate. "According to UNFPA, 38 percent of women gave birth in a hospital in 2009, up from 29 percent in 2003," the news service writes.

17 Dec 2009

Kaiser Permanente: Women of Chinese and Korean heritage may develop diabetes during pregnancy

More than 10 percent of women of Chinese and Korean heritage may be at risk for developing diabetes during pregnancy, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of 16,000 women in Hawaii that appears in the December issue of the Ethnicity and Disease journal.

11 Dec 2009

African-American women in South Carolina more likely to have cervical cancer than white women

African-American women in South Carolina are 37 percent more likely to have cervical cancer than white women and have a death rate that is about 61 percent higher, according to a study by researchers at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health.

11 Dec 2009

USC Fetal Therapy Program achieves improved survival rate in TTTS fetal surgery

A Southern California fetal surgery institute, one of only a handful in the United States, has posted enormously successful rates in treating a dangerous disorder that affects 10 percent of unborn identical twins.

10 Dec 2009

Children exposed to tobacco smoke prenatally develop behavioral problems, shows study

The scientists observed that the impact of tobacco smoke was especially detrimental during gestation. The results of the study have been published in the current online issue of the renowned journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

10 Dec 2009

Report highlights the state of oral health for children and adults in the United States

Oral disease, primarily dental caries, is the most common pediatric disease and can lead to physical and psychological disabilities as well as significant morbidity in adulthood.

9 Dec 2009

New article in Women's Health journal emphasizes the importance of early pregnancy detection

A new article published in the peer-reviewed journal Women's Health emphasizes the importance of early pregnancy detection. Using research conducted on behalf of Church & Dwight Co. Inc., the makers of First Response, the article reviews data that shows not all at-home pregnancy tests are created equal -First Response brand pregnancy tests are more sensitive and able to detect key variants of the pregnancy hormone better than other at home pregnancy tests.

9 Dec 2009

New NNNS screening tool developed to identify newborn at risk

When a baby is born, new parents often wonder, "Will he be the next President of the United States?" or "Could she be the one to find a cure for cancer?" But the underlying question for many specialists is, "Is this child 'at risk' for developmental issues?"

8 Dec 2009

Prenatal exposure to microbes may help protect child from developing allergies later in life

A pregnant woman's exposure to microbes may protect her child from developing allergies later in life. Researchers in Marburg, Germany find that exposure to environmental bacteria triggers a mild inflammatory response in pregnant mice that renders their offspring resistant to allergies.

8 Dec 2009

DirectView Holdings to facilitate the worldwide event for SIADTP's annual meeting

DirectView Holdings, Inc., a company focused on ownership and management of leading video and security technology companies, is pleased to announce that the Company has been chosen to facilitate a worldwide event for the Annual Meeting of the Iberoamerican Society for Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy (Sociedad Iberoamericana de Diagnóstico y Tratamiento Prenatal -- SIADTP).

7 Dec 2009

New data reveals insurance-based discrimination is more common among lower income women

According to an analysis of statewide data taken from 1998-2001, women in Oregon who made less than $50,000 a year were more than three times likely to report they were discriminated against by health providers because of their insurance status during pregnancy and delivery

5 Dec 2009

Beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs linked to autism-spectrum disorders

Commonly prescribed beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs for the treatment of asthma in pregnant women as well as pre-term labor may increase the incidence of autism-spectrum disorders, psychiatric pathology, cognitive problems and poor school performance in their children, according to a new study published in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

3 Dec 2009

Beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs can increase risk of autism-spectrum disorders in developing fetus

2 Dec 2009

Op-eds on World AIDS Day: Research, funding, hunger, Uganda

The "National Institutes of Health - perhaps our best hope for funding a cure for AIDS - has been underfunded since 2003," Kate Krauss, director of the AIDS Policy Project, writes in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece.

1 Dec 2009