Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Drug oxytocin may contribute to postpartum bleeding, researchers find

With the number of maternal deaths on the rise in the United States, researchers found that a drug frequently used to augment or induce labor may contribute to postpartum bleeding, a study in the September issue of Anesthesiology notes.

22 Aug 2013

Breastfeeding for more than six months may safeguard nonsmoking mothers against breast cancer

A new analysis has found that breastfeeding for more than six months may safeguard nonsmoking mothers against breast cancer. The same does not seem to hold true for smoking mothers, though. Published early online in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, the findings add to the list of benefits of breastfeeding for women and their babies.

16 Aug 2013

Loyola establishes Mother's Pelvic Wellness Program in Chicago area

Loyola University Health System has established the first multidisciplinary program in the Chicago area to help women recover from pelvic floor disorders related to pregnancy and childbirth.

13 Aug 2013

Augmentation during childbirth appears to be linked with increased odds of autism

An analysis of North Carolina birth and educational records suggests that induction (stimulating uterine contractions prior to the onset of spontaneous labor) and augmentation (increasing the strength, duration, or frequency of uterine contractions with spontaneous onset of labor) during childbirth appears to be associated with increased odds of autism diagnosis in childhood, according to a study by Simon G. Gregory, Ph.D., of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and colleagues.

13 Aug 2013

Research findings expand current understanding of postpartum sexuality

Partners of new mothers often experience shifts in sexuality, and these shifts are often unrelated to biological or medical factors pertaining to childbirth. The findings, which are published in a recent issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, expand current understanding of postpartum sexuality, and may help health professionals as they counsel new parents.

1 Aug 2013

Infants who spend nights away from caregivers have more insecure attachments

Babies have an innate biological need to be attached to caregivers, usually their parents. But what happens when babies spend a night or more per week away from a primary caregiver, as increasingly happens in cases where the parents share custody, but do not live together?

20 Jul 2013

Women at high risk of postpartum psychosis need very careful care, says new review

There are clear risk factors for postpartum psychosis that all women should be asked about antenatally to ensure early recognition and prompt treatment of the condition, says a new review published today (12 July) in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist.

15 Jul 2013

State highlights: Disabled at risk at Calif. facilities, audit finds; Advocates push for single policy for kids' medical, dental coverage in exchange plans; Ga. maternal mortality

Californians with developmental disabilities who are cared for at state facilities are being put at risk by outdated policies and inadequate investigations of abuse, the state auditor's office said Tuesday. Allegations that residents have been raped, shot with stun guns and otherwise abused have not been acted on satisfactorily, auditors found. The California Department of Developmental Services cares for 1,480 severely disabled people in five facilities throughout the state (McGreevy, 7/9).

11 Jul 2013

University of North Carolina receives $8M grant to improve maternal and infant health

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a five-year, $8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve maternal and infant health and save the lives of mothers and infants in Malawi by strengthening the President's Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood Initiative (SMI).

11 Jul 2013

"Kangaroo care" delivers benefits beyond bonding and breastfeeding for tiniest newborns

New research in the Journal of Newborns & Infant Nursing Reviews concludes that so-called "kangaroo care" (KC), the skin-to-skin and chest-to-chest touching between baby and mother, offers developmentally appropriate therapy for hospitalized preterm infants.

11 Jul 2013

Weekend reading: Taking stock of your body; A designer seeks to improve health care; A researcher's quest to lower suicide rates

Today, I've been on the phone four times, for an average of 24 minutes a call. My last phone call was 22 minutes 23 seconds long, according to the digital time device on my landline. It took me exactly 45 minutes and 10 seconds on the train to reach Brooklyn the other night: I counted the seconds off on my smart phone. My average mile when I ran 5K yesterday was 8 minutes and 45 seconds that showed up on the pedometer. (Nothing to boast about, I know.) ... I am able to hold my plank at the gym for 54 seconds rather than the minute I always thought I could, which I know thanks to my phone's stopwatch. My optimal sleep time is seven hours and 20 minutes and I wake up twice a night: I discovered that from a wristband that measures sleep duration and intensity.

4 Jul 2013

Vaginal birth increases risk of pelvic organ prolapse within year after delivery

Women who give birth vaginally are at increased risk of developing pelvic organ prolapse during the year after delivery, according to a study of Chinese women by researchers at Yale School of Medicine and Wenzhou Third People's Hospital.

3 Jul 2013

State highlights: Calif. bill to fine firms with workers on Medi-Cal fails; Pa. eyes disallowing apologies used against doctors in court-proceedings

A California proposal to fine large companies that have workers on Medi-Cal came up short in an initial vote in the Assembly amid strong business opposition. The proposed fines could reach about $5,000 per full-time employee who receives Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program for the poor. The bill, AB 880, garnered 46 votes in the 80-member chamber Thursday, short of the 54 votes, or two-thirds majority, needed. The measure could come up for reconsideration as early as next week (Terhune, 6/27).

2 Jul 2013

Combination of better healthcare and community awareness improves maternal and newborn care

A five-year programme that mobilised communities to improve the quality of care for mothers and newborns reduced newborn mortality by 30 percent and saved at least 1,000 newborn lives in rural Malawi.

25 Jun 2013

Pregnancy carried to childbirth increases risk of ACPA-negative RA

Epidemiological data presented today at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, demonstrate that pregnancy carried to childbirth (parity) increases the risk of ACPA-negative rheumatoid arthritis.

13 Jun 2013

Study: More than 50% of middle-aged women who still have regular period cycles have hot flashes

More than half of middle-aged women who still have regular cycles have hot flashes. Asian and Hispanic women are less likely to have them than white women, but compared with previous studies, the figures are surprisingly high, showed a survey of some 1,500 women published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

12 Jun 2013

Report highlights successes in improving maternal health, reducing child mortality

Rapid expansion of programs to prevent HIV transmission to babies and vaccinate children show how results can be achieved in relatively little time.

1 Jun 2013

Stronger epigenetic changes in estrogen responsive genes linked to postpartum depression

The epigenetic modifications, which alter the way genes function without changing the underlying DNA sequence, can apparently be detected in the blood of pregnant women during any trimester, potentially providing a simple way to foretell depression in the weeks after giving birth, and an opportunity to intervene before symptoms become debilitating.

21 May 2013

Long-term success rates of surgery to treat pelvic organ prolapse are lower than expected

Research conducted by the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network, an initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health, has revealed that the long-term success rates of a surgery to treat pelvic organ prolapse are lower than expected. Nearly one-third of women develop anatomic or symptomatic treatment failure within five years of undergoing sacrocolpopexy for pelvic organ prolapse, according to a study published in the May 15 issue of JAMA.

17 May 2013

New research calls for changes to government scheme on child health care programme

New research at The University of Nottingham is calling for changes to a government scheme which engages community nurses in the prevention of child abuse and neglect in the home as part of a maternal and child health care programme.

15 May 2013

Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Drug oxytocin may contribute to postpartum bleeding, researchers find

Breastfeeding for more than six months may safeguard nonsmoking mothers against breast cancer

Loyola establishes Mother's Pelvic Wellness Program in Chicago area

Augmentation during childbirth appears to be linked with increased odds of autism

Research findings expand current understanding of postpartum sexuality

Infants who spend nights away from caregivers have more insecure attachments

Women at high risk of postpartum psychosis need very careful care, says new review

State highlights: Disabled at risk at Calif. facilities, audit finds; Advocates push for single policy for kids' medical, dental coverage in exchange plans; Ga. maternal mortality

University of North Carolina receives $8M grant to improve maternal and infant health

"Kangaroo care" delivers benefits beyond bonding and breastfeeding for tiniest newborns

Weekend reading: Taking stock of your body; A designer seeks to improve health care; A researcher's quest to lower suicide rates

Vaginal birth increases risk of pelvic organ prolapse within year after delivery

State highlights: Calif. bill to fine firms with workers on Medi-Cal fails; Pa. eyes disallowing apologies used against doctors in court-proceedings

Combination of better healthcare and community awareness improves maternal and newborn care

Pregnancy carried to childbirth increases risk of ACPA-negative RA

Study: More than 50% of middle-aged women who still have regular period cycles have hot flashes

Report highlights successes in improving maternal health, reducing child mortality

Stronger epigenetic changes in estrogen responsive genes linked to postpartum depression

Long-term success rates of surgery to treat pelvic organ prolapse are lower than expected

New research calls for changes to government scheme on child health care programme

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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