Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Report shows 16.6% of women in Tennessee receive delayed or no prenatal care

In releasing a new report on maternal health nationwide, Amnesty International today revealed that flaws and shocking disparities in maternal health care that the government is ignoring lead to two to three women dying daily in the United States from pregnancy-related complications, with half of these deaths believed preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A state-by-state examination shows that Tennessee is 38th on a maternal mortality ranking, with 11.7 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010

20.2% women in New Jersey receive delayed or no prenatal care

In releasing a new report on maternal health nationwide, Amnesty International today revealed that flaws and shocking disparities in maternal health care that the government is ignoring lead to two to three women dying daily in the United States from pregnancy-related complications, with half of these deaths believed preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A state-by-state examination shows that New Jersey is 35th on a maternal mortality ranking, with 11.3 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010

Amnesty International: New York stands 47th on maternal mortality ranking

12 Mar 2010

Genentech announces topline results from Phase III trial of Avastin

Genentech, Inc., a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, announced today the topline results of a Phase III trial led by the U.S. Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute investigating the use of Avastin® (bevacizumab) in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy and prednisone in men with late stage prostate cancer (hormone-refractory / HRPC).

12 Mar 2010

Amnesty International: Office of Maternal Health need to be established to reduce maternal deaths nationwide

Amnesty International called on President Obama today to quickly establish an Office of Maternal Health to lead government action to reduce soaring pregnancy-related complications and maternal deaths nationwide. The human rights organization said the government must take immediate steps to stop the loss of two to three women every day and reduce the risk of complications that now affect one-third of all pregnant women -- 1.7 million women a year.

12 Mar 2010

Collaborative center established to reduce obesity-related deaths in African-American and Latino communities

A $6 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has funded the creation of ORBIT: Obesity Related Behavioral Intervention Trials to focus on reducing obesity and obesity-related deaths in New York City's African-American and Latino communities.

11 Mar 2010

Safeguard Scientifics' aggregate partner company revenue rises 46% in 2009

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced that aggregate revenue of its partner companies for the year was $262 million, up 46% from $179 million in 2008, exceeding the company’s 2009 guidance of $223 million to $243 million, as adjusted to reflect the inclusion of two new partner companies.

11 Mar 2010

Columbia Laboratories' fourth-quarter 2009 net revenues up 21%

Columbia Laboratories, Inc. today reported financial results of the three- and twelve-months periods ended December 31, 2009.

11 Mar 2010

NIH panel recommends delivery options for women: VBAC or cesarean

An independent panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health confronted a troubling fact that pregnant women currently have limited access to clinicians and facilities able and willing to offer a trial of labor after previous cesarean delivery because of so-called VBAC bans.

11 Mar 2010

AiDKlinik information system reduces adverse drug interaction numbers

To get life-threatening diseases under control, patients in the intensive care unit usually are administered many medications at the same time. Even for experts, it is difficult to keep track of the variety of possible side effects and interactions.

11 Mar 2010

Metal implants in young mothers may pose danger to offspring

Women with metal-on-metal hip implants, where both the ball of the joint and the surface of the socket are made of metal, pass metal ions to their offspring during pregnancy, according to a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. The ions are the result of wear and corrosion as the metal parts rub against one another.

11 Mar 2010

Combating DVT and PE: Critical recommendations

Three critical recommendations from a national workshop have been released to address deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), a growing public health problem estimated to affect nearly 1 million Americans each year.

10 Mar 2010

First use of prenatal MRI to detect often-misdiagnosed CCD

In a case believed to be a United States first, the radiology team at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital has used prenatal magnetic resonance imaging to detect an often-misdiagnosed genetic disease.

10 Mar 2010

Study: Hip replacement patients with MoM implants pass metal ions to their infants during pregnancy

Hip replacement patients with metal-on-metal (MoM) implants (both the socket and hip ball are metal) pass metal ions to their infants during pregnancy, according to a new study presented today at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

10 Mar 2010

Researchers take first step in development of vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria

By managing to express the protein that enables red blood cells infected with the malaria agent Plasmodium falciparum to bind to the placenta and by deciphering its molecular mechanisms, a team of researchers from CNRS and the Institut Pasteur has taken an important first step in the development of a vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria.

10 Mar 2010

Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca commence SAVOR-TIMI 53 trial of ONGLYZA for type 2 diabetes

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced the commencement of the “Saxagliptin Assessment of Vascular Outcomes Recorded in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus” trial, a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 4 study, to evaluate treatment with ONGLYZA™ (saxagliptin), a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, in adult type 2 diabetes patients with cardiovascular risk factors.

10 Mar 2010

Opinions: Don't slow fight against HIV, TB, malaria; U.S. focus on women, girls

In a BusinessDay opinion piece, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Michel Kazatchkine reflects on the organization's progress and impact on global health outcomes since its creation in 2002, as detailed in the organizations' 2010 annual report. Kazatchkine writes, 2010 "will be a decisive year; the world will be reviewing progress on the millennium goals. But this is also the year of the fund's replenishment. The results of that will decide where the world will be in 2015 with regard to the millennium goals."

10 Mar 2010

False positives in screening tests

In many jurisdictions, tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are required screening for pregnant women. Some even suggest screening the entire population for HIV. The rationale is to administer powerful antiretroviral drugs to healthy individuals to "prevent transmission."

10 Mar 2010

New article sheds light on the costs and benefits of screening for SMA

Spinal Muscular Atrophy is one of many serious disorders for which prenatal testing is available. SMA affects approximately 1 in 10,000 live births and is the leading genetic cause of infant mortality and the second most common autosomal recessive disorder, after cystic fibrosis. Although the American College of Medical Genetics recommends carrier testing for all couples, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued a recommendation to the contrary, citing lack of information about the costs and benefits of screening for SMA.

9 Mar 2010

Chicago Female Condom Campaign: Educating women about HIV/AIDS and FC2 Female Condom

The Female Health Company is supporting the launch of a social marketing campaign in Chicago that will educate women about HIV/AIDS and boost awareness, availability, and access to the FC2 Female Condom®, the only FDA approved woman-initiated HIV prevention method currently available.

9 Mar 2010