Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Valproate exposure during pregnancy can impair a child's cognitive development

Three-year-olds whose mothers took the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy had average IQs six to nine points lower than children exposed to three other antiepileptic drugs, a landmark multi-center study has found.

15 Apr 2009

Stressed pregnant women more likely to have asthmatic children

Pregnant women who are stressed, particularly late in pregnancy, have an increased risk of their child going on to develop asthma, according to the latest research from Children of the 90s.

15 Apr 2009

Healthy baby born 22 years after father's sperm was frozen

Twenty two years after his sperm was frozen because he had leukaemia, a man has fathered a healthy baby girl.

15 Apr 2009

Maternal positions and mobility during first stage of labor

Women who walk, sit, kneel or otherwise avoid lying in bed during early labor can shorten the first stage of labor by about an hour, according to a new Cochrane evidence review.

14 Apr 2009

You are what your mother did not eat during pregnancy

The new science of epigenetics explains how genes can be modified by the environment, and a prime result of epigenetic inquiry has just been published online in The FASEB Journal: You are what your mother did not eat during pregnancy.

13 Apr 2009

Gene targeting discovery opens door for vaccines and drugs

In a genetic leap that could help fast track vaccine and drug development to prevent or tame serious global diseases, DMS researchers have discovered how to destroy a key DNA pathway in a wily and widespread human parasite.

13 Apr 2009

Vitamin E during pregnancy puts babies at risk of heart defects

New research by scientists in the Netherlands has found that vitamin E supplements taken during pregnancy can increase the risk of heart defects in babies.

13 Apr 2009

Small RNAs can play critical roles in male infertility/contraception

University of Nevada School of Medicine scientists in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology have discovered insight into the reproductive workings of the male sex chromosome that may have significant implications for male infertility and contraception.

12 Apr 2009

The invisible woman: Availability and culpability in reproductive health jurisprudence

Women's health is increasingly undervalued in conflicts over reproductive rights, including clashes based on moral objections under so-called conscience clauses, a new study by a University of Illinois legal expert found.

12 Apr 2009

Youth as young as 12 engaging in risky sexual activity

Middle school youth are engaging in sexual intercourse as early as age 12, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health.

9 Apr 2009

FDA approves label change for non-invasive fibroid treatment

InSightec Ltd. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a label change for the company's ExAblate 2000 MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) system for the treatment of women with non-hysteroscopically resectable uterine fibroids.

8 Apr 2009

Frogs reveal clues about the effects of alcohol during development

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) cause malformations in babies, including facial defects, short stature, and mental and behavioral abnormalities.

6 Apr 2009

2,516 potential biomarkers of pancreatic cancer

A cancer scientist from Johns Hopkins has convinced an international group of colleagues to delay their race to find new cancer biomarkers and instead begin a 7,000-hour slog through a compendium of 50,000 scientific articles already published to assemble, decode and analyze the molecules that might herald the furtive presence of pancreatic cancer.

6 Apr 2009

Ugandan First Lady calls for increased efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission

Uganda's first lady Janet Museveni recently called for increased efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in the country, Uganda's New Vision reports.

6 Apr 2009

Gum disease linked to gestational diabetes

A new study by NYU dental researchers has uncovered evidence that pregnant women with periodontal (gum) disease face an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes even if they don't smoke or drink, a finding that underscores how important it is for all expectant mothers - even those without other risk factors - to maintain good oral health.

6 Apr 2009

Maternal smoking impairs a baby's ability to respond to external stimuli

Monash University researchers have shown that babies born to a mother who smokes are more likely to be slower to wake or respond to stimulation - and this may explain their increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

6 Apr 2009

Black women in Britain have double the risk of pregnancy complications

In the UK, black Caribbean and black African women have twice as much risk of experiencing severe pregnancy complications than white women, according to research published on BMJ.com.

2 Apr 2009

Discovery of gene linked to short-rib polydactyly syndrome

After 12 years of searching, UCLA scientists have tracked down the first known gene mutation responsible for a heartbreaking disorder that kills newborn babies.

1 Apr 2009

Women's health increasingly undervalued in conflicts over reproductive rights

Beth Burkstrand-Reid says a review of recent reproductive rights cases shows that judges may shortchange women's health when it is pitted against other legal interests, such as religious freedom, potentially leading to rulings that could put health at risk.

1 Apr 2009

Link between certain types of radiation therapy and fertility problems in women

In female cancer patients of reproductive age, radiation treatment directly to the ovaries should be avoided because there is a direct relationship between certain types of radiation therapy and fertility problems, according to a review in the April 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics , the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

1 Apr 2009