Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Genentech announces Phase III study results for Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemo in HER2-negative breast cancer

Genentech, Inc. today announced that a Phase III study (RIBBON 2) of Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy increased the time women with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer whose initial chemotherapy had stopped working lived without the disease worsening (progression-free survival or PFS), compared to chemotherapy alone.

18 Aug 2009

FDA approves Extavia for multiple sclerosis

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Extavia(R) (interferon beta-1b), the first in a new planned portfolio of multiple sclerosis (MS) medicines from Novartis to help patients manage this devastating disease.

17 Aug 2009

Mother's immune system may block fetal treatments for blood diseases

Pediatric researchers have resolved an apparent contradiction in the field of prenatal cell transplantation - a medical approach that holds future promise in correcting sickle cell disease and other serious congenital blood disorders. In a new study in animals, the researchers showed that the mother's immune response interferes with the offspring's earlier ability to tolerate transplanted donor cells.

17 Aug 2009

Seizures during pregnancy linked to pre-term, small or low-birth-weight babies

Women with epilepsy who have seizures during pregnancy appear more likely to give birth to pre-term, small or low-birth-weight babies than women without epilepsy, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Neurology.

10 Aug 2009

Obesity No. 1 concern for children in the United States

Public concern about childhood obesity is on the rise and it continues to outrank all other health problems as the No. 1 concern for children in the United States.

10 Aug 2009

Cooperation between faith-based organizations and UNFPA critical to maternal health, say groups

Partnerships between faith-based organizations and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, are critical to enhancing efforts to reduce maternal deaths and end violence against women.

7 Aug 2009

Huge cost of scaling up entire health system in Sub-Saharan Africa

Hiring the nearly 800,000 workers needed to eliminate the staggering shortage of health care professionals in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015 will cost $2.6 billion a year, or 2.5 times the annual funds currently allocated for health worker wages in the region, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and collaborators from the World Health Organization (WHO) and The World Bank.

6 Aug 2009

Importance of increased funding for molecular diagnostics

On July 9, 2009, the Society for Women’s Health Research convened experts on Capitol Hill to educate lawmakers on the importance of increased funding for new medical tests, called molecular diagnostics.

6 Aug 2009

In Kenya, Clinton calls on African leaders to promote good governance, women's rights

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday in Kenya "re-affirmed the new U.S. administration's commitment towards expanding its partnership with African countries, expressing optimism in the continent's long-term potential for growth and development," VOA News reports.

5 Aug 2009

Guardian examines U.K. offer to help provide free healthcare in 'world's poorest countries'

The Guardian examines British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's offer "to help some of the world's poorest countries to make healthcare free – starting with pregnant women and children – in a push to widen access to doctors across Africa and Asia."

4 Aug 2009

Exercise offers many benefits during pregnancy

Physicians should recommend low to moderate levels of exercise to their pregnant patients, even if they have not exercised prior to pregnancy, states a report published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS).

3 Aug 2009

Discovery of unique 'DNA signature' in human sperm - unlocks egg's fertility

Drs David Miller and David Iles from the University of Leeds, in collaboration with Dr Martin Brinkworth at the University of Bradford, have found that sperm writes a DNA signature that can only be recognised by an egg from the same species. This enables fertilisation and may even explain how a species develops its own unique genetic identity.

3 Aug 2009

Ethical ramifications of H1N1 vaccine priority groups

Pregnant women are among the groups that should receive H1N1 (swine) flu vaccinations this fall, according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel whose recommendations are generally accepted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

31 Jul 2009

IPS examines legislative measures to fight HIV/AIDS

Inter Press Service examines several civil society organizations' argument that legislative measures aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS, "hurt more" than they "help." There are 58 countries with laws in place to "prosecute HIV transmission" and 33 others where such legislation is being considered, according to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

31 Jul 2009

Summer temperatures increase risk of oligohydramnios - amniotic fluid level deficiency

Pregnant women have a higher incidence of insufficient amniotic fluid levels (oligohydramnios) in the summer months due to dehydration, according to a study conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU).

31 Jul 2009

Maternal mortality; health system strengthening, Opinions

Columnist Nicholas Kristof examines maternal health in developing countries in his latest New York Times opinion piece. Kristof describes a Pakistani woman's birth experience to illustrate the sort of "dramas" that "play out constantly in poor countries" where one "woman dies a minute from complications of pregnancy or childbirth somewhere in the world, and 20 times as many suffer childbirth injuries," he writes.

30 Jul 2009

Latin America accounts for two-thirds of all confirmed H1N1 deaths

Health officials are growing increasingly concerned over the impact the H1N1 (swine) flu is having on populations living in Latin America, a region "which accounts for around two-thirds of the 816 confirmed deaths so far from the disease," the AFP/channelnewsasia.com reports. "The outlook is especially unsettling for the estimated 380 million people grappling with winter in South America, where the A(H1N1) virus is speedily propagating," the news service writes.

29 Jul 2009

Maternal exposure to nanoparticles related to neurological dysfunction in the mouse

Maternal exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) affects the expression of genes related to the central nervous system in developing mice. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that mice whose mothers were injected with the nanoparticles while pregnant showed alteration in gene expression related to neurological dysfunction.

28 Jul 2009

Research adds to growing understanding of the metabolic consequences of assisted reproductive techniques

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that assisted reproductive techniques alter the expression of genes that are important for metabolism and the transport of nutrients in the placenta of mice.

27 Jul 2009

University at Buffalo start-up provides innovative digital sperm analysis to infertile couples worldwide

Couples struggling with fertility problems have a new option for assessing their ability to have a child with the start-up of a new Buffalo-based company called LifeCell Dx, Inc. (LCDX).

27 Jul 2009

Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Genentech announces Phase III study results for Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemo in HER2-negative breast cancer

FDA approves Extavia for multiple sclerosis

Mother's immune system may block fetal treatments for blood diseases

Seizures during pregnancy linked to pre-term, small or low-birth-weight babies

Obesity No. 1 concern for children in the United States

Cooperation between faith-based organizations and UNFPA critical to maternal health, say groups

Huge cost of scaling up entire health system in Sub-Saharan Africa

Importance of increased funding for molecular diagnostics

In Kenya, Clinton calls on African leaders to promote good governance, women's rights

Guardian examines U.K. offer to help provide free healthcare in 'world's poorest countries'

Exercise offers many benefits during pregnancy

Discovery of unique 'DNA signature' in human sperm - unlocks egg's fertility

Ethical ramifications of H1N1 vaccine priority groups

IPS examines legislative measures to fight HIV/AIDS

Summer temperatures increase risk of oligohydramnios - amniotic fluid level deficiency

Maternal mortality; health system strengthening, Opinions

Latin America accounts for two-thirds of all confirmed H1N1 deaths

Maternal exposure to nanoparticles related to neurological dysfunction in the mouse

Research adds to growing understanding of the metabolic consequences of assisted reproductive techniques

University at Buffalo start-up provides innovative digital sperm analysis to infertile couples worldwide

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

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

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