Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

First Edition: October 18, 2012

Today's headlines include resports about how the presidential candidates are crafting messages on women's health issues in order to appeal to female voters.

18 Oct 2012

Longer period of formula feeding may increase ALL risk

Prolonged formula feeding and older age at introduction of solid foods may increase a child’s risk for developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia, suggests research.

18 Oct 2012

Maternal depression influences infant speech development

The early development of speech perception in infants is affected by both maternal depression and prenatal exposure to serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such that major milestones are either accelerated or delayed, say US and Canadian scientists.

17 Oct 2012

Fathers' parenting behavior influences sexual behavior of their adolescent children

A new study by New York University professor Vincent Guilamo-Ramos and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that fathers' parenting behavior influences the sexual behavior of their adolescent children.

17 Oct 2012

Northwestern scientists to request EPA to update guidelines for reproductive health research

A team of Northwestern University scientists will meet with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators in Washington D.C. Oct. 18 to advocate for important changes in the agency's guidelines for reproductive health research.

17 Oct 2012

Mother rats respond much differently to cocaine than non-mothers

Mother rats respond much differently to cocaine than female rats that have never given birth, according to new University of Michigan research that looks at both behavior and brain chemistry.

16 Oct 2012

GAPPS announces five new projects for prevention of preterm births

Five innovative research projects aiming to prevent premature birth were announced today by the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), an initiative of Seattle Children's.

16 Oct 2012

Women's decisions about contraception may depend on factors over which they have little control

Young women who start using hormonal contraceptives for birth control often stop using condoms, but a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health finds that if they later discontinue using hormonal contraceptives, they tend not to resume using condoms. This leaves them open to both unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

15 Oct 2012

Pregnancy stress can cut brain benefits of motherhood

A new study in animals shows that chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, a finding that researchers suggest could increase understanding of postpartum depression.

15 Oct 2012

Romney campaign defends abortion policies

Much of the weekend health care political news coverage centered around women's health.

15 Oct 2012

Using public health approach to address unsafe abortion

"The global maternal mortality has dropped dramatically during the last decade," but "too many women continue to die from pregnancy-related causes," Sharon Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes in the BMJ Group Blogs.

15 Oct 2012

Gardasil does not increase sexual activity in girls

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine known as Gardasil is not associated with an increase in pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, or contraceptive counseling, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online today in the journal Pediatrics.

15 Oct 2012

Celgene receives FDA approval for ABRAXANE to treat non-small cell lung cancer

Celgene Corporation today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ABRAXANE (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with carboplatin, in patients who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation therapy.

15 Oct 2012

Contraceptive patch suppresses ovulation in obese, nonobese women

Use of a novel transdermal contraceptive patch suppresses ovulation in obese and nonobese women, research shows.

12 Oct 2012

Support education to reduce child marriage, maternal mortality among teenage girls

"Pregnancy and childbirth is still the leading cause of death for teenage girls in the poorest corners of the world, and despite all the progress in reducing maternal mortality by 47 percent, we have yet to save these young, vulnerable lives," Sarah Brown, founding chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education, writes in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

12 Oct 2012