Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Study reveals new strategy to prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus

A clinical study coordinated by the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development and Chiang Mai University with their Thai, American, and French partners, strengthens the case for a new strategy to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the hepatitis B virus.

8 Mar 2018

Technological advances in biosensors could reduce spread of HIV infection

1.8 million people acquire HIV each year, with the World Health Organisation estimating that 1 in 5 people living with HIV do not realize they are infected. Therefore, strategies for faster and earlier diagnosis are as important as ever to limit the spread of HIV.

From IDTechEx Ltd 7 Mar 2018

Maternal smoking during pregnancy contributes to asthma severity and poor lung function in kids

A new study published in the journal CHEST highlights the burden of obstructive lung disease in US children and implicates tobacco smoke exposure through maternal smoking during pregnancy as more strongly associated with worse lung function than current, ongoing TSE in school-aged children with asthma.

5 Mar 2018

Oral contraceptives increase ischemic stroke risk

Oral contraceptives increase the risk of ischemic stroke, but this risk is very small among women who do not have other stroke risk factors, according to a comprehensive review in the journal MedLink Neurology by Loyola Medicine stroke specialists.

5 Mar 2018

Exercise and hot baths are not dangerous during pregnancy, suggests study

A new study has suggested that pregnant women can exercise in warm weather, take saunas or have short steam baths without affecting their unborn child.

2 Mar 2018

One in 14 pregnant women continue to smoke

According to a report released this week (28th February 2018), one in 14 women who have given birth in the United States has smoked during their pregnancy despite warnings regarding the harmful effects of the same. The report comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics.

1 Mar 2018

Study suggests there are health benefits for the ‘tummy tuck’

A new study has found that abdominoplasty with muscle repair may reduce urinary incontinence and back pain in women following childbirth.

1 Mar 2018

Reduced risk of heart disease for mothers who breastfeed

According to a new study, women who breastfeed their babies for a minimum of 6 months after giving birth have a reduced risk of heart disease in later life.

1 Mar 2018

Study reveals cardiovascular health benefits of breastfeeding for some women

Women with normal blood pressure during pregnancy and who breastfed their babies for at least six months following birth had better markers of cardiovascular health years later compared to women who never breastfed, based on research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 67th Annual Scientific Session.

28 Feb 2018

Home-based semen analysis kit could provide rapid, cost-effective way to test male fertility

It is estimated that of the 70 million cases of infertility worldwide, almost half are caused by factors relating to the male partner. A number of semen parameters – motility, morphology, velocity, volume, concentration, and count – affect male fertility.

28 Feb 2018

Study suggests active surveillance over instant treatment for some cervical lesions

A new study suggests that regular monitoring (“active surveillance”) instead of instant treatment can prove effective for moderate cervical lesions–unusual cells on the cervix surface, typically known as cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia grade 2 or CIN2.

28 Feb 2018

Preeclampsia during pregnancy contributes to cardiovascular risk factors in women

Women diagnosed with preeclampsia during pregnancy were significantly more likely to develop high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol within five years compared with women who did not have preeclampsia, in a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 67th Annual Scientific Session.

28 Feb 2018

Diabetes drug use during pregnancy may increase risk of obesity or overweight in children

When women take the common diabetes medication metformin during pregnancy, it may put their children at increased risk of having obesity or overweight.

28 Feb 2018

Study shows no increase in complications with 'ad lib' oral intake during labor

At most US maternity units, women in labor are put on nil per os status--they're not allowed to eat or drink anything, except ice chips. But new nursing research questions that policy, showing no increase in risks for women who are allowed to eat and drink during labor.

24 Feb 2018

Researchers describe important step toward gene therapy for patients with Sandhoff disease

Babies with the rare, deadly genetic disorder Sandhoff disease begin to miss developmental milestones just months after birth. Lacking muscle tone, they never learn to sit up, develop heads too large to lift and eventually suffer uncontrollable seizures. There is no cure.

22 Feb 2018

C-sections and gut bacteria linked to childhood obesity risk

New CHILD Study research has found that overweight and obese women are more like to have children who are overweight or obese by three years of age--and that bacteria in the gut may be partially to blame.

22 Feb 2018

Younger women with SCAD may benefit most from conservative treatment

Patients who suffer from a type of heart attack that affects mainly younger women, called spontaneous coronary artery dissection or SCAD, may benefit most from conservative treatment, letting the body heal on its own.

22 Feb 2018

MSD and Ferring Pharmaceuticals Complete Largest Ever Clinical Trial in Postpartum Haemorrhage

Today, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and MSD, via its MSD for Mothers initiative, announced the completion of CHAMPION (Carbetocin Haemorrhage Prevention), a global clinical trial conducted by the Human Reproduction Program (HRP) at the World Health Organization (WHO).

22 Feb 2018

New study identifies novel molecular biomarkers of preeclampsia

Preeclampsia, a sudden pregnancy complication that can interfere with the blood flow to the placenta and possibly to the fetus, can lead to low birth weight, prematurity and even death.

22 Feb 2018

Zika virus could be alternative for treatment of aggressive brain cancer

Zika virus, feared for causing microcephaly in babies whose mothers were infected during pregnancy by attacking the cells that will give rise to the fetus's cerebral cortex, could be an alternative for treatment of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive kind of malignant brain tumor in adults.

21 Feb 2018