Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Births by Cesarean section rose by more than 40 percent in 10 years

The percentage of pregnant women undergoing a repeat Cesarean section (C-section) delivery jumped from 65 percent to 90 percent between 1997 and 2006, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

16 Apr 2009

Upright positions for childbirth shorten first-stage labor

Lying down during the early stages of childbirth may slow progress, according to a new systematic review.

14 Apr 2009

Black women in Britain have double the risk of pregnancy complications

In the UK, black Caribbean and black African women have twice as much risk of experiencing severe pregnancy complications than white women, according to research published on BMJ.com.

2 Apr 2009

Interventional radiology makes complicated C-sections safer

Innovative, interventional radiology treatments are making childbirth safer for women who have C-sections that are complicated by massive bleeding and for those who suffer from the pregnancy condition of "invasive" placenta.

11 Mar 2009

Black women in UK have double risk of complications during pregnancy

In the UK, black Caribbean and black African women have twice as much risk of experiencing severe pregnancy complications than white women, according to research published on BMJ.com.

3 Mar 2009

Modern life-making women 'ignorant and ill-equipped' to cope with motherhood

The growing trend to move miles away from hometowns and family for work is leaving many women feeling 'ignorant and ill-equipped' to cope with pregnancy and childbirth.

2 Mar 2009

Perinatal anxiety - the hidden disorder

You've probably heard of postpartum depression - a common problem after pregnancy, suffered by about one in seven new mothers.

25 Feb 2009

Increasing number of women suffer from post-birth bleeding

Post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) immediately after giving birth is the largest threat to new mothers in high-income countries.

25 Feb 2009

Genital piercings can cause serious health complications

While men can rely on that little, blue pill to improve things in the bedroom, women are turning to more extreme measures to enhance sexual intercourse.

25 Feb 2009

Women with diabetes before or during pregnancy at greater risk of depression

Low-income pregnant women and new mothers with diabetes have nearly twice the risk of experiencing depression during and after pregnancy than women without diabetes, according to a study in the February 25 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

24 Feb 2009

Anthropologist's studies of childbirth bring new focus on women in evolution

Contrary to the TV sitcom where the wife experiencing strong labor pains screams at her husband to stay away from her, women rarely give birth alone.

18 Feb 2009

Postnatal psychosis more common in older first-time mothers

Women who give birth for the first time after the age of 35 run a greater risk than younger first-time mothers of suffering a psychosis in the months after delivery.

10 Feb 2009

First-time mothers at a greater risk of psychosis in the month following childbirth

A study of risk factors associated with psychotic illness after childbirth, published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine, shows that first-time mothers are at the greatest risk of developing psychosis in the month following the birth of their child - even if they have never been treated in hospital for mental illness in the past.

10 Feb 2009

Older first time mothers more prone to develop mental illness

Swedish researchers have revealed that women who have their first baby after age 35 are more likely to develop a mental illness after the birth.

10 Feb 2009

FDA approves orphan drug ATryn anticoagulant

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued its first approval for a biological product produced by genetically engineered (GE) animals.

8 Feb 2009

Simple surgical checklist during major operations lowers deaths and complications

A collection of hospitals in eight cities around the globe has successfully demonstrated that the use of a simple surgical checklist during major operations can lower the incidence of deaths and complications by more than one third.

15 Jan 2009

Epidurals and spinal anesthetics safer than previously reported

The largest ever prospective study [1,2] into the major complications [3] of epidurals and spinal anaesthetics published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia today (Monday 12 January 2009) concludes that previous studies have over-estimated the risks of severe complications of these procedures.

12 Jan 2009

More can be done to prevent lung disease in Southeast-Asian babies

A simple, effective and low-cost method of preventing lung disease - and therefore death - in newborn children is not being practiced widely enough in South-East Asian hospitals, according to a major international study involving the University of Adelaide, Australia.

17 Dec 2008

Roche's new dual-target HIV-1 test approved in Europe

Roche announced today that its innovative dual-target HIV-1 test has received CE Mark certification, allowing it to be sold for clinical use in the European Union. The COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Test, v2.0 utilizes a unique design to simultaneously amplify and detect two separate regions of the HIV-1 genome.

15 Dec 2008