Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

First Edition: July 26, 2011

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "In the controlled chaos of an hospital emergency department, ensuring that patients are pain-free and can make informed choices about their care often takes a back seat to assessing and stabilizing them and moving them through the system as fast as possible.

26 Jul 2011

New hope for infants born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Researchers in Ottawa report new hope for the treatment of infants born with serious genetic disorder.

26 Jul 2011

New ATA guidelines on diagnosis and management of thyroid disease during pregnancy

Emerging data clarifying the risks of insufficient thyroid activity during pregnancy on the health of the mother and fetus, and on the future intellectual development of the child, have led to new clinical guidelines for diagnosing and managing thyroid disease during this critical period.

26 Jul 2011

Type 2 diabetes and obesity in pregnancy is a daunting duo: New research

Type 2 diabetes and obesity in pregnancy is a daunting duo, according to new research published this month in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. The study shows that both conditions independently contribute to higher risks, opening the door to a wide range of pregnancy, delivery and newborn complications.

26 Jul 2011

Women & Infants creates fully integrated center for high-risk pregnancy

Every pregnancy deserves special treatment. But when a woman with a normal pregnancy has a complication or a woman with a medical issue becomes pregnant, she needs highly specialized care.

26 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Van Hollen on Medicaid cuts; debate on rising Medicare age; women's health issues

Walking away from the federal commitment to Medicaid doesn't solve the problem; it just passes health care costs down to states. Because almost every state, including Maryland, is required by law to balance its budget every year, it means cuts in services and more financial strains for already suffering families, cuts in provider payments, lost jobs in the health care sector, and dampened business activity as the consequences of lost jobs and unmet health care needs ripple through the economy.

26 Jul 2011

Understaffed maternity units in UK struggling to cope

Across the UK, maternity units were forced to close to new admissions 1,055 times last year, nearly always because of understaffing or lack of beds, a series of Freedom of Information requests have found. At least 927 women were turned away. On the other hand in some London trusts one in five midwifery posts lies vacant. The Royal College of Midwives says at least 4,700 extra midwives are needed in England and Wales.

25 Jul 2011

Researchers dissociate beneficial and detrimental impacts of maternal regulatory T cells

A normal but concerning consequence of pregnancy is the fact that pregnant women are more susceptible to infection. University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have identified the underlying mechanisms for this physiologic immune suppression that may lead to new therapies to help ward off infections during pregnancy.

22 Jul 2011

FDA approves Merz Aesthetics' XEOMIN for temporary improvement of glabellar lines

Merz Aesthetics today announced that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved XEOMIN for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines, or frown lines between the eyebrows, in adult patients.

22 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Will Gang of Six compromise work?; endorsing birth control recommendations; Minn. budget deal

Not surprisingly, the plan has drawn complaints from the left about cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and from the right about defense cuts and tax increases. But the senators are right about the need to simplify and broaden the tax code and to put entitlements on a sustainable footing without slashing aid to the most vulnerable.

22 Jul 2011

Scientists find distinct links between smoking during pregnancy and long-term harm for the child

Scientists now understand more about why being exposed to nicotine while you were a fetus will increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease as an adult. "We have found distinct links between cigarette smoking or even using nicotine patches or gum and the long-term harm for the child," says Dr. DaLiao Xiao, a scientist who works at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California.

21 Jul 2011

Senate Commission compiles new threshold limit values for dusts

The 2011 MAK and BAT Values List compiled by the Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, a Senate Commission of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), recommends reducing the general threshold limit value for dust for the alveolar fraction in light of recent studies and classifies such dusts as carcinogenic when these thresholds are exceeded.

21 Jul 2011

Women in embattled regions have limited access and means to use contraceptives

Violent conflict disrupts all aspects of society, including the delivery of the most basic reproductive health services: prenatal and maternal care, family planning, prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, abortions and emergency caesarian care.

21 Jul 2011

Essential criteria for clinical diagnosis of restless legs syndrome

We've all experienced abnormal sensations in our legs at one time or another, but for as many as 10 percent of the US population, restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a daily occurrence. Characterized by throbbing, pulling, tingling, itching, and crawling sensations, RLS is a neurological disorder that produces unpleasant physical sensations in the extremities and an urge to counteract that sensation by movement.

21 Jul 2011

Caffeine reduces women's chances of becoming pregnant

Caffeine reduces muscle activity in the Fallopian tubes that carry eggs from a woman's ovaries to her womb. "Our experiments were conducted in mice, but this finding goes a long way towards explaining why drinking caffeinated drinks can reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant," says Sean Ward, professor of physiology and cell biology, at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, who conducted the study.

21 Jul 2011

IOM panel recommends insurance coverage for contraception

The recommendation by the Institute of Medicine advises that contraceptives for women be treated as one of the several preventive services provided free of charge under the new health law.

21 Jul 2011

Roche, Merck sign new non-exclusive agreement for HCV triple combination therapy

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that it has signed a new non-exclusive agreement with Roche, through the companies' respective subsidiaries, for the global promotion, upon appropriate marketing approvals, of VICTRELIS (boceprevir) as part of a triple combination therapy regimen with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin.

21 Jul 2011

Babies of stressed pregnant mums may have lasting effects

According to a new study high levels of stress during pregnancy can cause an unborn child to have lifelong mental scars. Researchers have found that a mother facing unnecessary crises can leave an imprint in the brains of her children, making them less able to cope as they get older.

20 Jul 2011

Male infertility cause found in defective gene

Researchers have found a new cause of infertility that could allow millions of infertile couples around the world to have a child. The team found a common gene mutation that causes sperm to be far less able to swim through the mucus of the cervix and reach the egg.

20 Jul 2011

Australia sees early rise in flu cases

Australia is gripped with a fourfold increase in the number of people suffering flu. This rise is even before the usual peak season in August and September. Already nearly 8,000 cases have been reported compared with about 2,000 at the same time last year. The increase has disproportionately affected Queensland, NSW and South Australia. In January and February more than 1,700 people were recorded with flu, compared with fewer than 300 the year before.

20 Jul 2011

Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

First Edition: July 26, 2011

New hope for infants born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy

New ATA guidelines on diagnosis and management of thyroid disease during pregnancy

Type 2 diabetes and obesity in pregnancy is a daunting duo: New research

Women & Infants creates fully integrated center for high-risk pregnancy

Viewpoints: Van Hollen on Medicaid cuts; debate on rising Medicare age; women's health issues

Understaffed maternity units in UK struggling to cope

Researchers dissociate beneficial and detrimental impacts of maternal regulatory T cells

FDA approves Merz Aesthetics' XEOMIN for temporary improvement of glabellar lines

Viewpoints: Will Gang of Six compromise work?; endorsing birth control recommendations; Minn. budget deal

Scientists find distinct links between smoking during pregnancy and long-term harm for the child

Senate Commission compiles new threshold limit values for dusts

Women in embattled regions have limited access and means to use contraceptives

Essential criteria for clinical diagnosis of restless legs syndrome

Caffeine reduces women's chances of becoming pregnant

IOM panel recommends insurance coverage for contraception

Roche, Merck sign new non-exclusive agreement for HCV triple combination therapy

Babies of stressed pregnant mums may have lasting effects

Male infertility cause found in defective gene

Australia sees early rise in flu cases

Industry Focus eBook - Forensics & Toxicology (1st edition) eBook

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Industry Focus eBook - Forensics & Toxicology (1st edition) eBook

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

Newsletters you may be interested in