Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Protein that regulates hormones critical to women's health found in pituitary

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have solved the mystery surrounding a "rogue protein" that plays a role in the release of neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain.

12 Jan 2009

Possible test for autism raises calls for an ethical debate

New research by British scientists means prenatal testing for autism is a possibility, but has evoked calls for an ethical debate on the issue.

12 Jan 2009

California's rise in autism cases

A study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born in California with autism since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted - and the trend shows no sign of abating.

9 Jan 2009

Women who smoke during pregnancy risk having aggressive kids

While previous studies have shown that smoking during gestation causes low birth weight, this research shows mothers who light up during pregnancy can predispose their offspring to an additional risk: violent behaviour.

6 Jan 2009

Home visits lower likelihood of low birth weight babies

Socially disadvantaged mothers who receive home visits from trained community visitors are less likely to deliver low birth weight babies than other mothers in similar circumstances, a new study finds.

6 Jan 2009

Maternity leave appears to decrease cesarean deliveries and increase breastfeeding

Two new studies led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, suggest that taking maternity leave before and after the birth of a baby is a good investment in terms of health benefits for both mothers and newborns.

5 Jan 2009

Mothers pass on disease clues, prime offspring for the environment they will live in

When there is a threat of disease during pregnancy, mothers produce less aggressive sons with more efficient immune systems, researchers at The University of Nottingham have discovered.

5 Jan 2009

Researchers look at global endometrial ablation procedure for heavy menstrual bleeding

Experts estimate that 20 percent of women experience excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding at some time during their lives, particularly as they approach menopause.

5 Jan 2009

Schering-Plough announces European submission of fertility medicine Corifollitropin Alfa

Schering-Plough Corp. has announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has validated (accepted for review) its Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for corifollitropin alfa, the company's experimental, sustained follicle stimulant (SFS).

1 Jan 2009

Watson Pharmaceuticals receives FDA approval for generic Mircette

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for desogestrel/ethinyl estradiol and ethinyl estradiol tablets USP, 0.15 mg / 0.02 mg.

30 Dec 2008

Moderate drinking lowers risk of Alzheimer's and cognitive decline

Moderate drinkers often have lower risks of Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive loss, according to researchers who reviewed 44 studies.

30 Dec 2008

Barcode chip enables cheaper, faster blood testing

A new barcode chip developed by a multi-institutional team of investigators promises to revolutionize diagnostic medical testing. In less than 10 minutes and using just a pinprick's worth of blood, the chip can measure the concentrations of dozens of proteins, including those that herald the presence of diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

29 Dec 2008

Trends in sexual behaviors similar for teens who take few health risk and those who take many

Adolescent health risk behaviors often occur together, suggesting that youth involvement with one risk behavior may inform understanding of other risk behaviors, but in a study to examine the association between involvement in non-sexual risk behaviors and trends among sexual behaviors, Mailman School of Public Health researchers found that sexual behaviors vary considerably between those youth engaged in no risk health behaviors and those engaged in multiple health risk behaviors.

22 Dec 2008

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy damages offspring's white matter - brain's connective network

One part of the prenatal brain that may be particularly sensitive to alcohol's effects is white matter, nerve fibers through which information is exchanged between different areas of the central nervous system.

22 Dec 2008

Repeated miscarriages and hormone treatment for infertility increase pre-eclampsia risk

Repeated miscarriages and hormone treatment for infertility give an increased risk of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women.

18 Dec 2008

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy linked to oral clefts

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy is clearly linked with an increased risk of cleft lip in newborns.

18 Dec 2008

More can be done to prevent lung disease in Southeast-Asian babies

A simple, effective and low-cost method of preventing lung disease - and therefore death - in newborn children is not being practiced widely enough in South-East Asian hospitals, according to a major international study involving the University of Adelaide, Australia.

17 Dec 2008

Schizophrenia and autism may share common origin

Schizophrenia and autism probably share a common origin, hypothesises Dutch researcher Annemie Ploeger following an extensive literature study.

17 Dec 2008

Pregnant women need to avoid caffeine at all cost

A new study published online in The FASEB Journal shows that the equivalent of one dose of caffeine (just two cups of coffee) ingested during pregnancy may be enough to affect fetal heart development and then reduce heart function over the entire lifespan of the child.

16 Dec 2008

Unmarried dads' involvement with child secured during pregnancy

The best chance of "reeling-in" an unmarried father and building the foundations for a stable family life are the critical months of pregnancy, says new research from the University of Maryland.

15 Dec 2008