Womb News and Research

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The womb is the small, hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman's pelvis. This is the organ in which a baby grows. Also called uterus.

Diabetes drug could be repurposed as new treatment to prevent miscarriage

A drug designed to tackle diabetes could also be repurposed as the first treatment to prevent miscarriage by targeting the lining of the womb itself, according to a clinical trial led by the University of Warwick.

9 Jan 2020

Study underscores the importance of long-term follow-up for Zika-exposed infants

Colombian infants exposed to Zika virus in the womb showed neurodevelopmental delays as toddlers, despite having "normal" brain imaging and head circumference at birth, a finding that underscores the importance of long-term neurodevelopmental follow-up for Zika-exposed infants, according to a study published online Jan. 6, 2020, in JAMA Pediatrics.

6 Jan 2020

Diet significantly influences mental health and wellbeing, review confirms

A new expert review confirms that diet significantly influences mental health and wellbeing, but cautions that the evidence for many diets is comparatively weak.

3 Jan 2020

Combination treatment reduces breast cancer development in mice

Adding a medication used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraines to a blood pressure medicine reversed some aspects of breast cancer in the offspring of mice at high risk of the disease because of the high fat diet fed to their mothers during pregnancy.

30 Dec 2019

Pregnant teens have higher rates of depression and substance use

Researchers from Lawson Health Research Institute and Brescia University College found that teenage pregnant women are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer mental health and have higher rates of substance use.

18 Dec 2019

Boys born small at higher risk of infertility

A new study published in the journal Human Reproduction on December 13, 2019, shows that baby boys who don’t grow as well as expected in the womb may grow up to be infertile as adults. The study showed a 55% or 85% higher risk of infertility among this group of men compared to those born with appropriate weights.

15 Dec 2019

Fetal heart rate could predict future heart health of babies

Changes in heart rate due to low oxygen conditions experienced by the fetus during pregnancy could predict the future heart health of babies, suggests research published today in The Journal of Physiology.

6 Dec 2019

Perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure may impair lung development in premature infants

New research in mice suggests that exposure to antibiotics before birth may impair lung development in premature infants. The study, the first to explore the gut-lung axis in prematurity, is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology and was chosen as an APSselect article for December.

5 Dec 2019

Common cold virus could infect fetus via placenta

According to researchers, the common cold viruses are capable of infecting human placental cells and may thus transmit the infection to the fetus in the womb during pregnancy. The new study was published in the journal PLOS ONE, and provides the first concrete proof that this type of carriage is possible.

3 Dec 2019

Study finds it may be possible to treat endometriosis using an investigational cancer drug

Researchers have shown that painful endometriosis symptoms could be alleviated using an investigational cancer drug.

3 Dec 2019

Painful endometriosis symptoms could be reduced with a cancer drug

The painful symptoms of endometriosis - a chronic condition which affects millions of women - could potentially be reduced with a drug that had previously been investigated as a cancer treatment.

2 Dec 2019

Placenta changes in older mothers linked to greater odds of heart problems in male offspring

Placenta changes could mean male offspring of older mums more likely to develop heart problems in later life, rat study finds.

28 Nov 2019

Fetuses see more than previously believed

Scientists have shown that the retina has more light sensitivity and babies in the womb can see more than previously thought.

26 Nov 2019

Novel solution could produce accurate, automated placental diagnostic reports

Placentas can provide critical information about the health of the mother and baby, but only 20 percent of placentas are assessed by pathology exams after delivery in the U.S. The cost, time and expertise required to analyze them are prohibitive.

25 Nov 2019

World's first surgical navigation system for fetal surgery developed

The placenta of every expectant mother is located in a different place, its blood vessels are never the same and its connection to the fetus and the umbilical cord also varies from one pregnancy to another.

25 Nov 2019

Risk of death from heart disease found to be higher in cancer patients

More than one in ten cancer patients do not die from their cancer but from heart and blood vessel problems instead, according to new research published in the European Heart Journal today. For some cancers, like breast, prostate, endometrial, and thyroid cancer, around half will die from cardiovascular disease (CVD).

25 Nov 2019

Cochrane review provides information on HPV vaccines and dose schedules in young women, men

New evidence published in the Cochrane Library today provides further information on the benefits and harms of different human papillomavirus vaccines and vaccine schedules in young women and men.

22 Nov 2019

Pioneering scientist wins 2019 Foulkes Foundation Medal for contributions to biomedical science

Professor Muzlifah Haniffa from Newcastle University and the Wellcome Sanger Institute has won the 2019 Foulkes Foundation Medal for her ground-breaking contributions to biomedical science, it was announced today [Tuesday 19 November, 2019].

18 Nov 2019

Children born to women on HIV therapy more likely to have microcephaly, developmental delays

Children born to women on HIV therapy containing the drug efavirenz were 2 to 2.5 times more likely to have microcephaly, or small head size, compared to children born to women on regimens of other antiretroviral drugs, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.

18 Nov 2019

Hiccups in a newborn could mean their brains are developing say researchers

Newborn babies seem to hiccup a lot and there are myths and legends surrounding such behaviour. Now researchers have found that with each such hiccup in a new born, there is a trigger of brain signals that help the baby’s brain figure out breathing. The UCL scientists published the findings of their study in the latest issue of the journal Clinical Neurophysiology.

12 Nov 2019