Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

DNA-based prenatal blood test can also identify trisomy 13 and 18

A newly available DNA-based prenatal blood test that can identify a pregnancy with Down syndrome can also identify two additional chromosome abnormalities: trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome). The test for all three defects can be offered as early as 10 weeks of pregnancy to women who have been identified as being at high risk for these abnormalities.

3 Feb 2012

Pfizer recalls a million oral contraceptive pills

Pfizer has recalled 1 million packs of Lo/Ovral-28 and generic norgestrel/ethinyl estradiol birth control pills. These pills that need to be taken in the correct sequence have been mixed up in packaging and women using them could be at risk of pregnancy.

2 Feb 2012

ACIP recommends changes in 2012 Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices now recommends routine HPV vaccination for males aged 11 to 12 years and catch-up vaccination for males aged 13 to 21. These are just two of the changes to the 2012 Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule being published February 1 in Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians.

2 Feb 2012

Takeda, SPI announce that lubiprostone phase 3 trial on OBD meets primary endpoint

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. announced today that lubiprostone met the primary endpoint in a phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD) in patients with chronic, non-cancer pain, excluding those taking methadone.

2 Feb 2012

Older women who become pregnant from egg donation not at greater risk than younger counterparts

Although women over age 50 who become pregnant via egg donation are at an elevated risk for developing obstetrical complications, their complication rates are similar to those of younger recipients, according to a study by Columbia University Medical Center researchers to be published in the February 2012 issue of the American Journal of Perinatology.

1 Feb 2012

Fish intake can help pregnant women improve their progeny's intelligence

Can pregnant women improve their progeny's intelligence by eating fish? A study recently submitted to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and coordinated by the University of Granada professor Cristina Campoy Folgoso revealed that infants born to mothers who consumed more fish during pregnancy score higher in verbal intelligence and fine motor skill tests, and present an increased prosocial behavior.

1 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: ACOs might replace health insurers; Losing a job while pregnant; Barring smokers from the workplace

Here's a bold prediction for the new year. By 2020, the American health insurance industry will be extinct. Insurance companies will be replaced by accountable care organizations - groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who come together to provide the full range of medical care for patients.

31 Jan 2012

New research gains increased respect for contraceptive method

Imagine a contraceptive that could, with one or two painless 15-minute non-surgical treatments, provide months of protection from pregnancy. And imagine that the equipment needed were already in physical therapists' offices around the world.

31 Jan 2012

FDA approves Genentech's Erivedge for treatment of BCC

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that Erivedge (vismodegib) capsule was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adults with a type of skin cancer, called basal cell carcinoma (BCC), that has spread to other parts of the body or that has come back after surgery or that their healthcare provider decides cannot be treated with surgery or radiation.

31 Jan 2012

Genentech receives FDA approval for Erivedge to treat basal cell carcinoma

Today, Erivedge (vismodegib) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adult patients with basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer. The drug is intended for use in patients with locally advanced basal cell cancer who are not candidates for surgery or radiation and for patients whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

31 Jan 2012

HPV transmission via oral sex practices suggests research

A new study suggested that an estimated 7% of American teens and adults carry the human papillomavirus in their mouths. This may help health experts finally understand why rates of mouth and throat cancer have been climbing for nearly 25 years. The evidence additionally makes it clear that oral sex practices play a key role in transmission.

29 Jan 2012

Study explores links between antiretroviral prophylaxis, cleft lip and palate

HIV-positive mothers have been able to guard against transmitting the disease to their babies by taking antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy. Although the drugs prevent children from being born with HIV, they could cause birth defects, such as cleft lip and palate. A new study explores any links between antiretroviral prophylaxis and cleft lip and palate.

27 Jan 2012

Rotational motion plays a critical role in ability of breast cells to form acini

In a study that holds major implications for breast cancer research as well as basic cell biology, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered a rotational motion that plays a critical role in the ability of breast cells to form the spherical structures in the mammary gland known as acini.

27 Jan 2012

Weill Cornell establishes Office of Faculty Development

Weill Cornell Medical College has announced the establishment of the Office of Faculty Development dedicated to assisting its physicians, researchers and educators in achieving academic success at each stage of their careers, with targeted activities that focus on the needs of junior, mid-career and senior faculty.

27 Jan 2012

ILCA, IBLCE recognizes Cincinnati Children's for excellence in lactation care

The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) and International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) have recognized Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for excellence in lactation care.

27 Jan 2012

LEO Pharma receives FDA approval for Picato topical gel to treat AK

LEO Pharma announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Picato (ingenol mebutate) gel (0.015%, 0.05%) for the topical treatment of actinic keratosis.

27 Jan 2012

State roundup: Conn. home worker demand soars; Family planning providers dwindle in Texas; Florida legislation on health budgets, prices, abortion

Ensuring that there are enough direct care workers to meet the growing demand is one of the most significant challenges facing state officials as they try to dramatically expand the availability of home-based long-term care. ... Home care work is often sensitive, challenging and poorly compensated.

27 Jan 2012

PMI-supported study aims to measure malaria among pregnant women in Rwanda

This post in the Malaria Free Future blog reports on a study underway in Rwanda that aims to measure the prevalence of malaria in pregnancy (MIP).

25 Jan 2012

Comprehensive policy package based on research needed to stem abortion figures

"The astounding thing about the global abortion debate is not that some people have deeply held views about what a pregnancy is and when a human existence begins" but that "policymakers continue to ignore carefully amassed information about the actual outcome of programs and laws related to sexuality and reproduction," Marianne Møllmann, senior policy adviser with Amnesty International's International Secretariat, writes in this Guardian opinion piece.

25 Jan 2012

Meridian Bioscience first quarter net sales increase 8% to $40.3 million

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio today: reported first quarter net sales of $40.3 million, an increase of 8% from the same period of the prior fiscal year.

25 Jan 2012