Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Nursing home staffing rules prompt pushback

It's not surprising that the nursing home industry is filing lawsuits to block new Biden administration rules requiring minimum staffing at facilities that accept federal dollars.

6 Jun 2024

Exploring the biology behind maternal mental health disorders

Pregnancy and new motherhood transform a woman's body as well as her life. While this is often a joyous time, it can sometime lead to mental health disorders, most often anxiety and depression.

6 Jun 2024

Pregnancy-adapted Mediterranean diet improves maternal health, study finds

A recent study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition validated the 17-item pregnancy-adapted Mediterranean diet score (preg-MEDAS) and found it improved maternal cardiometabolic health without significantly affecting neonatal outcomes.

4 Jun 2024

Fertility warning: SARS-CoV-2 can linger in sperm for months after infection

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown for the first time that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can remain in the sperm of patients for up to 90 days after hospital discharge and up to 110 days after the initial infection, reducing semen quality.

4 Jun 2024

Researchers develop a simpler and more effective screening method for cervical cancer

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Innsbruck in Austria have developed a simpler and more effective screening method for cervical cancer than the method used today.

4 Jun 2024

Digital pregnancy support app predicts future depression with high accuracy

A simple survey delivered during the first trimester through digital pregnancy support app MyHealthyPregnancy predicted which mothers went on to develop moderate to severe depression with a high level of accuracy, according to a new Archives of Women's Mental Health study led by University of Pittsburgh and UPMC researchers.

3 Jun 2024

Pre-pregnancy weight loss surgery type may affect child's early weight gain

The type of weight loss surgery women undergo before becoming pregnant may affect how much weight their children gain in the first three years of life, suggests a study being presented Monday at ENDO 2024, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Boston, Mass.

3 Jun 2024

Long-term study reveals safety of metformin use during pregnancy

Metformin is safe to use during pregnancy to manage diabetes, with no long-term adverse effects on the children born and their mothers for at least 11 years after childbirth, according to research presented Sunday at ENDO 2024, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Boston, Mass.

3 Jun 2024

Progesterone therapy shows mixed results for neurodevelopment in infants with heart defects

A randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open found no significant overall benefit of maternal progesterone therapy on neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants with congenital heart defects, but observed improvements in female children and specific heart conditions.

2 Jun 2024

How early-life exposure to air and noise pollution impacts youth mental health: Insights from a 25-year study

The impact of prenatal and early life exposure to noise and air pollution on mental health outcomes.

31 May 2024

BRCA1 testing during prenatal care could prevent cancer, save lives

Harmful variants in the BRCA1 gene greatly increase a person's lifetime risk of developing breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers, but most people are unaware they are carriers.

30 May 2024

Unveiling the epigenetic impact of prenatal amphetamine exposure using C. elegans models

Amphetamine is a psychostimulant that has been used to treat a variety of brain dysfunctions. However, it is a highly abused drug.

30 May 2024

Pregnant women less likely to suffer long COVID, study finds

A new study in EClinicalMedicine found that SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is linked to a lower risk of developing post-acute sequelae (PASC) compared to infection outside of pregnancy.

29 May 2024

Study examines the effects of pregnant mother's epilepsy medications on child's creativity

While older drugs for epilepsy, taken while pregnant, have been shown in previous research to affect the creative thinking of children, a new study finds no effects on creativity for children born to those taking newer epilepsy drugs.

29 May 2024

Addressing local dynamics in rubella vaccination policy

When public health officials make policies about when and how vaccination programs are implemented, they must weigh the benefits and risks of how infectious diseases spread throughout the country.

29 May 2024

Study links low oxytocin levels to symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome

The role of oxytocin (OT) in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

29 May 2024

Microplastics: Invisible to the eye but severely harmful to pregnancy and metabolic outcomes

The effects of polystyrene microplastics on pregnancy outcomes and glucose metabolism.

29 May 2024

Study offers insight into early developmental risk factors for ADHD

Several early developmental factors are associated with an increased risk of ADHD during childhood and adolescence.

29 May 2024

New point-of-care test revolutionizes toxoplasmosis screening

An inexpensive, accurate test that detects infections with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii can provide results within 30 minutes from a finger-prick in a doctor's office or within an hour from a small blood sample tested in a local medical laboratory.

28 May 2024

Prenatal air pollution exposure linked to adolescent mental health problems

A baby's exposure to air pollution while in the womb is associated with the development of certain mental health problems once the infant reaches adolescence, new research has found.

28 May 2024