Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Access to quality health care, political will essential for continued progress in reducing maternal mortality

In this Daily Beast opinion piece, Sarah Brown, an adjunct professor at the Institute for Global Health Innovations at Imperial College in London and global patron of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, and Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, head of obstetrics and gynecology and deputy head of clinical sciences at St. George's University of London, highlight the Global Health Policy Summit scheduled to take place in London on Wednesday.

2 Aug 2012

High maternal choline intake may reduce risk of hypertension and diabetes in babies

New research from Cornell University indicates that pregnant women who increase choline intake in the third trimester of pregnancy may reduce the risk of the baby developing metabolic and chronic stress-related diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes later in life.

2 Aug 2012

House to vote on D.C. abortion measure

The House is scheduled to vote Tuesday under suspension of the rules on legislation that would limit abortions in D.C. Specifically, the measure would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except when the pregnancy is a danger to the life of the mother.

1 Aug 2012

Judge allows Ariz. late-term abortion ban to take effect

A federal judge ruled Monday that Arizona's ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy can stand. The judge said the law doesn't stop women from getting abortions, but that it may make some women consider the procedure earlier in their pregnancies.

1 Aug 2012

APA Convention to highlight new research in personality and social psychology

From how relationships affect our health to the psychology of an awkward party moment to why we often choose ignorance over information - a guide to some talks with new research in personality and social psychology at the APA Convention in Orlando, Aug. 2-5, 2012.

1 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 1, 2012

WBUR's Martha Bebinger, working in partnership with Kaiser Health News and NPR, reports: "The Massachusetts Legislature Tuesday passed the next phase of its ongoing attempt to reform the health care system: sweeping cost control legislation. Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, hailed the lawmakers' work saying, 'This is more than a good bill, a great bill.'"

1 Aug 2012

Link between maternal metabolic or psychological stress and obesity in offspring

A new report involving mice suggests that a relationship exists between maternal metabolic or psychological stress and the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome in her offspring. What's more, the report shows that if the stress cannot be reduced or eliminated, manipulating the neuropeptide Y (NPY) system in visceral fat may prevent maternal stress-induced obesity from occurring in the next generation.

1 Aug 2012

Obesity also affects sexual and urinary health in men

As a man's waistline grows, so can his experience with sexual dysfunction and frequent urination, say researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The study, published in the August issue of the British Journal of Urology International (BJUI), is the first to comprehensively show that obesity in men affects not just their hearts and metabolism, but also their sexual and urinary health.

31 Jul 2012

High choline intake during pregnancy may improve how a child responds to stress

If you're sick from stress, a new research report appearing in the August 2012 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that what your mother ate-or didn't eat-may be part of the cause.

31 Jul 2012

Health law's insurance rebates, exchanges and mandates continue to draw headlines

News outlets report on a variety of health law implementation policies, including state-level action.

31 Jul 2012

Conception plans miscarry with sperm DNA damage

Sperm with damaged DNA are more likely to cause spontaneous pregnancy loss, report researchers.

30 Jul 2012

High in-utero magnetic field levels may increase risk of obese or overweight in childhood

In-utero exposure to relatively high magnetic field levels was associated with a 69 percent increased risk of being obese or overweight during childhood compared to lower in-utero magnetic field levels, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that appears in the current online version of Nature's Scientific Reports.

30 Jul 2012

Anticancer benefit to giving birth after 30

Women who last give birth after the age of 30 years have a decreased risk for endometrial cancer, researchers report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

27 Jul 2012

HIV drug resistance: an interview with Dr. Silvia Bertagnolio

Sexual intercourse is the major mode of HIV transmission. HIV may also be transmitted through sharing of needles or contaminated blood products (although this is rare).

27 Jul 2012

FDA approves Horizon Pharma's RAYOS to treat key IL-6 mediated diseases

Horizon Pharma, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved RAYOS (prednisone) delayed-release tablets (1 mg, 2 mg and 5 mg) to treat a broad range of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

26 Jul 2012

Takeda, Sucampo file AMITIZA sNDA with FDA for treatment of opioid-induced constipation

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. Inc. today announced the filing of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for a new indication for AMITIZA (lubiprostone) for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with chronic, non-cancer pain.

26 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 26, 2012

Today's headlines include coverage of findings from a new study that indicate Medicaid may help people live longer.

26 Jul 2012

Risk of endometrial cancer begins to decrease after age 30 in women

Women who last give birth at age 40 or older have a 44 percent decreased risk of endometrial cancer when compared to women who have their last birth under the age of 25, according to strong evidence in a new, international study led by a researcher at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).

26 Jul 2012

Federal appeals court rules South Dakota can force doctors to warn of suicide risk before performing abortion

Reversing an earlier ruling, a South Dakota federal appeals court has ruled the state can require doctors to warn women before an abortion that they stand a greater risk of suicide.

26 Jul 2012

Recent release: HIV epidemic, family planning 'inextricably linked'

Noting "approximately 17 million women worldwide are currently living with HIV, with more than a million new infections in women of reproductive age each year," Suzanne Ehlers, president and CEO of Population Action International (PAI), and Charles Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), write in this guest post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog that "family planning and HIV are inextricably linked, especially for HIV-positive women who are pregnant or may become pregnant."

26 Jul 2012