Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Poor sleep health in late pregnancy linked to higher childhood obesity risk

New research has found that mothers with poor sleep quality in late pregnancy had babies with lower weight in the first 6 months of life, but higher weight after age 1-2 years.

22 Sep 2026

Prenatal cannabis exposure linked to subtle brain and behavioral differences in children

A large ABCD study of 10,838 children found that prenatal cannabis exposure was associated with small differences in resting-state brain connectivity, higher behavioral and emotional problem scores, and lower performance on several cognitive measures in late childhood. PCE-related connectivity patterns partly overlapped with those linked to psychopathology and cognition, although the cross-sectional observational design cannot establish causality or mediation.

22 Sep 2026

Daughters inspire closer parental relationship bonds, study finds

Children can be hard on a relationship, but some kids can bring parents closer together.

21 Sep 2026

Sex differences in infant attention are present hours after birth

Cambridge scientists have shown that girls and boys show differences in what they pay attention to, even at birth.

21 Sep 2026

Mifepristone offers effective emergency contraception with fewer side effects

Emergency contraception containing mifepristone prevents more pregnancies with fewer side effects than some other common emergency contraceptive pills such as levonorgestrel, according to a new Cochrane review involving 87 trials.

20 Sep 2026

Study identifies brain mechanism behind pregnancy-related food cravings

Why do food cravings become so strong during pregnancy? Researchers at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in collaboration with colleagues, have identified a brain mechanism that may help explain how pregnancy changes the motivation to seek certain highly palatable foods.

18 Sep 2026

AI spots at-risk pregnancies for earlier, more personalized prenatal care

Artificial intelligence (AI) may help identify women and babies at risk of serious health problems earlier in pregnancy, according to a new study analyzing data from more than half a million pregnancies across Sweden, Chile, and Singapore.

18 Sep 2026

Sex-specific biological clocks reveal how aging differs across the body in women and men

Researchers developed 38 sex-specific biological aging clocks across 15 organ systems, finding differences between females and males in genetic architecture, molecular signatures, disease associations, and mortality patterns. Brain aging clocks were linked to progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease in both sexes and to sex-dependent cognitive trajectories among solanezumab-treated A4 participants, while the authors stressed that sex-pooled and sex-interaction models remain complementary approaches.

17 Sep 2026

Can maternal diet prevent infant food allergy? A large trial puts eggs and peanuts to the test

A large Australian randomized trial of 2,137 pregnant women tested whether substantially increasing egg and peanut consumption during pregnancy and breastfeeding could prevent food allergy in infants with a strong family history of allergic disease. Higher maternal intake did not significantly reduce IgE-mediated egg or peanut allergy at 1 year, although the lower-than-expected allergy rate limited statistical power and the results could not exclude a clinically important benefit.

17 Sep 2026

Celastrol reduces cholestatic liver injury by inhibiting specific protein

Cholestasis occurs when bile formation, secretion, or flow is impaired, causing toxic bile acids to accumulate and trigger inflammation and liver-cell damage.

17 Sep 2026

Women with hyperemesis gravidarum report major gaps in care

Medical assistance can help women suffering from severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, but insufficient recognition of Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) means that many are not getting the help they need to overcome this severe and debilitating form of morning sickness.

17 Sep 2026

High estrogen alters brain circuit causing temporary memory impairment during pregnancy

Many women usually say the same thing during pregnancy: they walk into a room and forget why, misplace their keys or struggle to follow a conversation.

17 Sep 2026

Study confirms continued effectiveness of antibodies and vaccines used to prevent RSV infections

An analysis of more than 60,000 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) sequences from around the world found that viral variants associated with resistance to current RSV prevention tools remain rare, according to a study published Sept. 16 in Nature.

16 Sep 2026

Study explores pregnancy risks from heat and wildfire smoke

Wildfire smoke and extreme heat – increasingly the new norm – each have their own harmful effects on pregnant people and babies, including preterm birth and low birthweight.

15 Sep 2026

Male contraception has barely changed in a century. What comes next?

A review traces more than 5,000 years of male contraception, from early penile sheaths and the development of modern condoms and vasectomy to today's search for reversible alternatives. Researchers are now testing hormonal gels, non-hormonal compounds and vas-occlusive technologies, although these approaches remain at different stages of preclinical and clinical development.

15 Sep 2026

A large US study found no overall link between fluoride in pregnancy and children’s behavior

A US cohort study of 5,520 children found no overall association between prenatal exposure to fluoride in public drinking water and internalizing or externalizing behavioral problems across the primary analyses. Exploratory analyses identified some associations with externalizing problems at higher fluoride concentrations and in certain subgroups, but the researchers said these findings require further investigation.

13 Sep 2026

Medicaid ACOs can improve maternal care quality and equity

A new study details how Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations can improve maternal healthcare quality and equity in the US by aligning performance mandates with innovative care coordination and social needs support among patients before, during, and after pregnancy.

10 Sep 2026

Women use creatine differently from men, survey reveals

A cross-sectional survey of 2,094 current or recent creatine users found that women were more concentrated in shorter-duration use groups than men and reported different supplementation goals, information sources, and knowledge patterns. Women were less likely to cite athletic performance and more likely to cite healthy aging as a goal, while researchers cautioned that the survey design cannot explain why these differences exist.

10 Sep 2026

The link between fish and pregnancy hypertension may start before conception

In a nationwide Japanese cohort of more than 86,000 women, higher fish intake before pregnancy was associated with lower odds of early-onset hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, while fish intake during pregnancy showed different associations with late-onset disease, particularly among women who had not previously given birth. Total dietary omega-3 and omega-6 PUFA intake showed much less consistent associations, suggesting that the relationship with fish consumption may not be explained by total PUFA intake alone.

9 Sep 2026

Early pregnancy emotions may predict childhood developmental delay risks

Pregnancy is often one of the biggest emotional and physical transitions in a woman's life. Alongside the well-known physical changes, many women also experience shifts in mood and mental health during pregnancy and after giving birth, with anxiety and depression being quite common.

9 Sep 2026