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SSRI antidepressants taken during pregnancy do not impact infant's growth over the first year

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants taken by a woman during pregnancy do not impact her infant's growth over the first year, reports a new study from a Northwestern Medicine scientist.

20 Mar 2013

Scientists develop pig brain model to study human brain development

A mutual curiosity about patterns of growth and development in pig brains has brought two University of Illinois research groups together. Animal scientists Rod Johnson and Ryan Dilger have developed a model of the pig brain that they plan to use to answer important questions about human brain development.

16 Mar 2013

Majority of women have postpartum depressive symptoms, finds study

A surprisingly high number of women have postpartum depressive symptoms, according to a new, large-scale study by a Northwestern Medicine- researcher.

15 Mar 2013

Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience gets grant for research into neurological disorders

The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, the first and only U.S. extension of the prestigious Max Planck Society, today announced it has received approximately $1,257,500 in grant funding from prestigious national and international organizations to fund research into Parkinson-s, epilepsy and other neurological disorders.

15 Mar 2013

Studies show prenatal nutrition may affect gene function in children's health

Pioneering studies by U. S. Department of Agriculture-funded research molecular geneticist Robert A. Waterland are helping explain how the foods that soon-to-be-moms eat in the days and weeks around the time of conception-or what's known as periconceptional nutrition-may affect the way genes function in her children, and her children's health.

13 Mar 2013

Non-invasive prenatal genetic screening: an interview with Dr. Charles Strom, Senior Medical Director, Quest Diagnostics

A new category of non-invasive genetic screening tests is gaining a great deal of interest in the medical field – including from Quest Diagnostics -- for its potential to help screen women during pregnancy for genetic abnormalities known as trisomies, the most common of which is Down syndrome.

From Quest Diagnostics 13 Mar 2013

Study links prenatal DDT exposure to hypertension in adults

Infant girls exposed to high levels of the pesticide DDT while still inside the womb are three times more likely to develop hypertension when they become adults, according to a new study led by the University of California, Davis.

12 Mar 2013

Bringing evidence-based midwifery care to mothers and babies at the bottom of the pyramid

Healthy Mother Wellness & Care, the pioneer in introducing evidence-based scientific midwifery care in India, announced today the formation of The Healthy Mother Foundation, a non-profit trust with the mission to address the lack of affordable, accessible, and high quality maternal and newborn care in urban slums in India.

12 Mar 2013

Urinary bisphenol A levels linked to asthma risk in children

Results from a US study suggest that urinary levels of the chemical bisphenol A are positively associated with wheeze and asthma risk in young children.

8 Mar 2013

Ark. lawmakers override veto, ban most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy

The state House on Wednesday followed the Senate in overriding Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of the measure. Opponents say the law "would blatantly violate" the Constitution and plan to challenge it in court.

8 Mar 2013

Discovery provides clues for potentially eliminating HIV infection in children

A two-year-old child born with HIV infection and treated with antiretroviral drugs beginning in the first days of life no longer has detectable levels of virus using conventional testing despite not taking HIV medication for 10 months, according to findings presented today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

5 Mar 2013

Exercise during pregnancy can reduce rate of cesarean deliveries in healthy pregnant women

Researchers at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid have found that regular and supervised exercise by experts during pregnancy can reduce the rate of instrumental and cesarean deliveries in healthy pregnant women.

4 Mar 2013

Combination of two environmental factors contributes to schizophrenia

The interplay between an infection during pregnancy and stress in puberty plays a key role in the development of schizophrenia, as behaviourists from ETH Zurich demonstrate in a mouse model. However, there is no need to panic.

2 Mar 2013

National Birth Defects Prevention Network honors BU researcher with Godfrey P. Oakley, Jr., Award

Allen A. Mitchell, MD, a professor of public health (epidemiology) and professor of pediatrics at the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine, recently received the Godfrey P. Oakley, Jr., Award at the annual meeting of the National Birth Defects Prevention Network. Mitchell, who is also the director of Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC), was recognized for his significant lifetime contributions to the field of birth defects.

28 Feb 2013

Study: Infants of African ancestry more likely to be born prematurely

Low birth weights are more prevalent among Brazilians with African ancestry and may be attributed to less use of prenatal care facilities and where those ethnic groups live, according to a new study.

27 Feb 2013

DHA supplementation during pregnancy reduces very low birth weight and early preterm delivery

University of Kansas researchers have found that the infants of mothers who were given 600 milligrams of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA during pregnancy weighed more at birth and were less likely to be very low birth weight and born before 34 weeks gestation than infants of mothers who were given a placebo. This result greatly strengthens the case for using the dietary supplement during pregnancy.

26 Feb 2013

Quest Diagnostics offers access to a new non-invasive prenatal test developed by Natera

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX), the world’s leading diagnostic information services company, and Natera, a leading innovator in prenatal genetic testing, today announced that Quest Diagnostics will offer physicians access to Panorama™, a new non-invasive prenatal test developed by Natera.

From Quest Diagnostics 21 Feb 2013

Signaling pathway might determine genetic susceptibility for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading preventable cause of developmental disorders in developed countries. And fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a range of alcohol-related birth defects that includes fetal alcohol syndrome, is thought to affect as many as 1 in 100 children born in the United States.

21 Feb 2013

Study identifies and discusses key factors that lead to obesity in pregnant women

A much neglected part of the obesity epidemic is that it has resulted in more overweight/obese women before and during pregnancy. Their offspring also tend to have higher birth weights and more body fat, and carry an increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases later in life. However, the nutritional factors and mechanisms involved pre and during pregnancy that may influence child obesity remain uncertain.

14 Feb 2013

Periconceptional folic acid intake may reduce risk of autistic disorder in children

In a study that included approximately 85,000 Norwegian children, maternal use of supplemental folic acid from 4 weeks before to 8 weeks after the start of pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of autistic disorder in children, according to a study appearing in the February 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Feb 2013