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Maternal anxiety, depression may increase risk of asthma in children

Anxiety, stress and depression during pregnancy may lead to a greater risk of asthma for your child. Study results are published in the July issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

6 Jul 2011

Infants treated with certain HIV medication more likely to experience adrenal dysfunction

Infants of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infected mothers who were treated before and after birth with the protease inhibitor lopinavir-ritonavir were more likely to experience adrenal dysfunction, including life-threatening adrenal insufficiency in premature infants, compared with a zidovudine-based regimen, according to a preliminary report in the July 6 issue of JAMA.

6 Jul 2011

Clearblue Digital Ovulation test safe, non-invasive for women trying to conceive

Dr. Jayne Ellis, Director of Scientific and Medical Affairs at SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Geneva, Switzerland, makers of the test, explained that it consisted of a digital reader and urine test sticks, which could detect the surge in luteinising hormone (LH) that triggers ovulation.

5 Jul 2011

Periodontal disease can affect woman's chance of conceiving

Professor Roger Hart told the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology that the negative effect of gum disease on conception was of the same order of magnitude as the effect of obesity.

5 Jul 2011

Study: Threatened miscarriages complicate 20% of all pregnancies

Dr Kaltum Adam, an honorary clinical research fellow at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester (UK), told the annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology that around 20% of all pregnancies were complicated by threatened miscarriage, and up to 20% of these would miscarry.

5 Jul 2011

Cleavage stage embryo with aneuploidy can undergo genetic normalisation process

Professor William G. Kearns told the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology that a three-day-old embryo with an incorrect number of chromosomes was capable of undergoing "a dynamic process of genetic normalisation" so that by day five, when it had developed to the blastocyst stage, it had become euploid, with the correct number of chromosomes.

5 Jul 2011

Early childbearing impedes education among women

In almost every country, women with more education have fewer children. But does education reduce childbearing, or does childbearing get in the way of education, or both? New research by Joel E. Cohen and colleagues in Norway found that, at least among a population of Norwegian women, childbearing impeded education more than education impeded childbearing.

5 Jul 2011

ICSI study shows strong increase in first trimester pregnancy loss after the age of 38

The research, presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, also showed that rates of preclinical abortion, miscarriage and overall pregnancy loss during the first trimester remained more or less constant until the age of 34, but increased steadily from the age of 35 onwards.

5 Jul 2011

Antidepressants during first trimester linked to increased risk of autism

Prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, especially during the first trimester, is associated with a modest increase the risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder, according to a report published Online First in the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

5 Jul 2011

Mammograms should be personalized based on woman's age, breast density

Mammograms should not be done on a one-size fits all basis, but instead should be personalized based on a woman's age, the density of her breasts, her family history of breast cancer and a number of other factors including her own values.

5 Jul 2011

Anti-depressants during early pregnancy linked to increased risk of autism

Exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors anti-depressants in early pregnancy may modestly increase risk of autism spectrum disorders, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the current issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

5 Jul 2011

Women with sedentary lifestyle more likely to develop pulmonary embolism

Women who sit for long periods of time everyday are two to three times more likely to develop a life-threatening blood clot in their lungs than more active women, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

5 Jul 2011

Study shows effect of maternal height on multiple implantation

The researchers say that this is the first time the effect of maternal height on multiple implantation has been shown.

4 Jul 2011

Women can have successful pregnancy after recurrent miscarriage

In a subset of the ALIFE study, which investigated the effect of aspirin alone or combined with low-molecular-weight heparin, compared to placebo, on the live birth rate in women with unexplained RM, the researchers looked at the length of time between the moment of randomisation to the moment of the first day of last menstruation before the subsequent pregnancy.

4 Jul 2011

Primiparity, maternal smoking and BMI linked to risk of pre-term birth

In Sweden almost 40 000 children have now been born after IVF, around 3 500 each year, and IVF children constitute 3% of all newborns. "This represents a large number of children and any adverse outcomes related to IVF are therefore a major public health issue," said Dr. Antonina Sazonova, from Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, who carried out the research with colleagues from the hospital and from Lund University.

4 Jul 2011

New model may help reduce multiple pregnancies in women

Dr Jan Holte told the annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, that if this model were to be applied in all fertility clinics, it had the potential to reduce the twin rates to the level of just under two percent seen in the normal population. Already, another four clinics have started to use the model.

4 Jul 2011

New insight into oocyte chromosome abnormalities

Ovarian stimulation undertaken by women of advanced maternal age receiving fertility treatment may be disrupting the normal pattern of meiosis - a critical process of chromosome duplication followed by two specialised cell divisions in the production of oocytes and sperm - and leading to abnormalities of chromosome copy numbers that result in IVF failure, pregnancy loss or, more rarely, the birth of affected children with conditions such as Down's syndrome, which is caused by the inheritance of three copies of chromosome 21.

4 Jul 2011

Medical practitioners can help reduce breast cancer deaths in African-American women

Wayne State University researchers believe medical practitioners can help reduce the number of breast cancer deaths among low-income African-American women by more effectively educating their patients about the importance of mammography screening.

2 Jul 2011

Judge halts enforcement of S.D. abortion law; hearing on Kansas law today

A federal judge on Thursday barred a tough new South Dakota abortion law from taking effect while it's being challenged in court. The law, which would have taken effect Friday, requires women seeking abortions to face a three-day waiting period and undergo counseling at pregnancy help centers that discourage abortion.

2 Jul 2011

IPS looks at U.N. Women funding levels

Inter Press Service looks at funding for U.N. Women six months after the organization launched. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "set an initial target of 500 million dollars as the proposed annual budget for the new gender-empowered body. But nearly six months later, the voluntary funding for U.N. Women (UNW) from the 192 member states has remained painfully slow," IPS writes.

2 Jul 2011