Prenatal News and Research

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Health policies part of political buzz words in presidential, congressional races

While GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum says the health law could discourage marriage, first lady Michelle Obama is courting women to back her husband's re-election efforts.

22 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 21, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include reports about how the Supreme Court's consideration of the health law could prolong the fight over the sweeping measure.

21 Feb 2012

Drug 'addicted' newborn the latest hysteria driven absurdity

The Florida Society of Pain Management Providers (www.Flspmp.org) feels it is vital to set the factual record straight in light of the mass deception used to foment a hysteria driven war on pain medications that now is threatening the health and welfare of Florida's chronic pain patients.

21 Feb 2012

Obama campaign pushes back against Santorum attack on prenatal testing

Campaigning in Ohio on Saturday, Rick Santorum displayed his culture-warrior side in full force ... He lambasted the president's health care law requiring insurance policies to include free prenatal testing, "because free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and therefore less care that has to be done because we cull the ranks of the disabled in our society".

21 Feb 2012

With contraception issue, Santorum highlights conservative credentials

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), argued this morning on NBC's Meet the Press program that Obama's desire to have most religious hospitals provide birth control coverage to employees is "not an issue about contraception." ... But Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) sharply disagreed, accusing Republicans of harping on "red-meat social issues that rile up their base."

20 Feb 2012

Not-for-profit company leads push for automation of Medicaid enrollment process

Venture capitalists and Wall Street have invested millions of dollars to capitalize on the health care industry's burgeoning demand for information technology. But in New York State, the push to automate the Medicaid enrollment process is being led not by a behemoth IT corporation, but by a tiny not-for-profit: the Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality (Hudson Center). And 2012 is shaping up to be its breakout year.

18 Feb 2012

Vaccines are for people of all ages, not just children and seniors

Keeping up with vaccines is not always easy, particularly if you live in a household with family members of different ages. Vaccination needs can also change quickly if there's an outburst of a disease.

18 Feb 2012

Study examines mercury exposure in pregnant women

A new study published by researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center's School of Public Health assesses mercury levels in pregnant women and examines dietary and environmental sources of exposure to mercury. The research, which focuses on an urban immigrant community, examined risk factors that may be associated with elevated mercury levels, measured through urine and cord blood samples.

18 Feb 2012

Exposure to common flame retardant may affect fertility and long-term memory

Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to autism-like behaviors that were exposed to a common flame retardant were less fertile and their offspring were smaller, less sociable and demonstrated marked deficits in learning and long-term memory when compared with the offspring of normal unexposed mice, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found.

16 Feb 2012

Baby Jaya receives a pacemaker 15 mins after birth

Little Jaya lived up to her name which in Hindi means victorious. Jaya Maharaj became one of the smallest recipients of a pacemaker when she was just 15 minutes old.

15 Feb 2012

Surgeons fix plumbing in the heart of newborn 5 days old

Keyota Cole was born with a bad heart. The 33-year-old from of Bakersfield, Calif., suffers from a congenital heart disease called Ebstein's malformation of the tricuspid valve, and from abnormal pulmonary veins. She has undergone multiple surgeries over her lifetime, including one to repair a hole in her heart, a valve replacement and the implantation of a pacemaker.

15 Feb 2012

Agilent's microarrays used in landmark study on prenatal samples

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced its microarrays were used in a landmark research study on prenatal samples. The three-year study was designed to evaluate the accuracy, efficacy and potential advantages of using microarray analysis as compared with conventional karyotyping. Agilent SurePrint CGH microarrays and analysis software were used for the majority sample cohort of 4,400 samples.

14 Feb 2012

Chemotherapy during pregnancy for cancer does not necessarily harm the baby: Study

When a pregnant woman is diagnosed with cancer, she and her family and doctors are faced with difficult decisions about her health and that of her unborn child. It is known that giving chemotherapy in the first 12 weeks, when the baby's organs are still forming, raises the chances of birth defects. Postponing the treatment, however, could allow the cancer to spread. Over the last decade, doctors have been more willing to use chemotherapy after the first trimester, but there have been worries that the child's brain and heart could suffer damage.

13 Feb 2012

Massively parallel sequencing effective in diagnosing fetal aneuploidies

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that massively parallel sequencing can be used to diagnose fetal aneuploidies, including Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome and Turner syndrome.

13 Feb 2012

New program aims to reduce early elective deliveries

The Obama administration launched a $40 million effort Wednesday to reduce premature births, especially early elective deliveries, but it has no plans to stop Medicaid from paying for those deliveries.

10 Feb 2012

Chromosomal microarray provides more information about fetal abnormalities

A nationwide, federally funded study has found that testing a developing fetus' DNA through chromosomal microarray (CMA) provides more information about potential disorders than does the standard method of prenatal testing, which is to visually examine the chromosomes.

10 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Komen takes a lashing; Is the safety net really intact?; Romney assails HHS' rule on contraception

With its roster of corporate sponsors and the pink ribbons that lend a halo to almost any kind of product you can think of, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has a longstanding reputation as a staunch protector of women's health. That reputation suffered a grievous, perhaps mortal, wound this week from the news that Komen, the world's largest breast cancer organization, decided to betray that mission.

5 Feb 2012

Mental illness suspect genes are among the most environmentally responsive regulatory mechanisms

For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub.

3 Feb 2012

DNA-based prenatal blood test can also identify trisomy 13 and 18

A newly available DNA-based prenatal blood test that can identify a pregnancy with Down syndrome can also identify two additional chromosome abnormalities: trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome). The test for all three defects can be offered as early as 10 weeks of pregnancy to women who have been identified as being at high risk for these abnormalities.

3 Feb 2012

Older women who become pregnant from egg donation not at greater risk than younger counterparts

Although women over age 50 who become pregnant via egg donation are at an elevated risk for developing obstetrical complications, their complication rates are similar to those of younger recipients, according to a study by Columbia University Medical Center researchers to be published in the February 2012 issue of the American Journal of Perinatology.

1 Feb 2012