Childbirth News and Research

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Media outlets examine how maternal health, efforts to reduce global poverty will be central to next week's MDG Summit

Media outlets continued to look ahead to next week's U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Summit, with a focus on two of the central themes to be addressed at the meeting - maternal health and poverty.

17 Sep 2010

IVF on the rise in Australia: Report

According to a Federal Government report there are now more births via In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment than ever before in Australia. There has been a 45% rise in the number of babies born through IVF and other treatments between 2004-08, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report released today. In 2008 there were 10,509 babies born through fertility treatments in Australia.

16 Sep 2010

Maternal mortality worldwide declines by over one-third since 1990, U.N. report says

Maternal mortality has declined by more than one-third since 1990, according to a report from U.N. agencies released on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports. But the agencies warned that the rate of progress was too slow and that the decline still misses the maternal mortality Millennium Development Goal target of a three-quarters cut (9/15).

16 Sep 2010

Maternal mortality decreases by 34%, but 1000 still die a day

The number of women dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth has decreased by 34% from an estimated 546 000 in 1990 to 358 000 in 2008, according to a new report, Trends in maternal mortality, released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Bank.

15 Sep 2010

Professor Nygren reviews current state of IVF safety

Now a review by the Chair of the international body which collects data on IVF concludes that IVF is generally safe, although he stresses that patients need to be made aware of the slight risks, and that we need to continue to monitor the results of the technique.

14 Sep 2010

March of Dimes listed on 2010 Working Mother Media's 100 Best Companies

Although it's only been on Working Mother Media's 100 Best Companies for two years, the March of Dimes has a long history of influencing women's ability to balance work and life.

14 Sep 2010

Inovio Pharmaceuticals achieves promising results in VGX-3100 Phase I study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it has achieved best-in-class immune responses in its Phase I dose escalation study of VGX-3100, its DNA vaccine to treat pre-cancerous cervical dysplasias and cervical cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18.

13 Sep 2010

C-section rates on the rise

According to a California Watch analysis, profit making hospitals across the state are performing Cesarean sections at higher rates than non-profit hospitals. The analysis compiled a database of state birthing records and showed that women were at least 17 percent more likely to have a Cesarean section at a for-profit hospital than at a non-profit or public hospital from 2005 to 2007.

12 Sep 2010

Summit negotiators seek to get MDGs 'back on track'

"World powers are moving slowly toward an accord on the strategy to be embraced at a looming United Nations summit aiming to get the lofty Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] back on track," Agence France-Presse writes in an article examining the ongoing debates over how best to achieve the MDGs before the 2015 deadline.

10 Sep 2010

Focusing on most disadvantaged children more cost-effective than current strategies, UNICEF reports say

UNICEF on Tuesday said that by "comparing the effectiveness of different strategies for aid delivery, targeting the poorest and neediest children could save more lives per $1 million spent than the current path," Reuters reports (Charbonneau, 9/7).

9 Sep 2010

Morning sickness treatment still elusive: Review

According to experts we are nowhere near establishing safe and effective ways to treat morning sickness. Since the Thalidomide disaster in 1960’s that led to severe birth defects in the infants, this area of research is scary and less explored by many researchers. Despite its name, the vomiting and nausea of morning sickness can occur at any time of the day and affect about half of pregnant women. Between 70% and 85% of women will experience nausea during pregnancy, with about half suffering vomiting. Around 2% will experience it so badly they need to be hospitalised.

7 Sep 2010

Opinions: MDG progress; Drug patents; Aid for scientific research; Avoiding food crises; Hunger in India; U.S. commitments to PEPFAR, Global Fund

"Between the catastrophes of the Haiti earthquake and the Pakistan floods, there was actually some good news this spring on the global health front, which offers hope that the United Nations' ambitious Millennium Development Goals might not be at a standstill. Though a great deal remains to be done, all of us are living longer, fewer mothers are dying in childbirth, and fewer children are dying before school age," Eli Adashi, professor of medical science at Brown University, writes in Boston Globe editorial.

30 Aug 2010

First international technical conference for maternal health development

From August 30 to September 1, more than 600 maternal health experts will gather in Delhi, India, for the Global Maternal Health Conference 2010, the first international technical conference devoted exclusively to maternal health.

30 Aug 2010

Oxytocin level associated with parent-specific styles of interaction: Research

The hormone oxytocin has come under intensive study in light of emerging evidence that its release contributes to the social bonding that occurs between lovers, friends, and colleagues. Oxytocin also plays an important role in birth and maternal behavior, but until now, research had never addressed the involvement of oxytocin in the transition to fatherhood.

21 Aug 2010

Cardinal DiNardo calls for support on 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act'

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, chair of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called on members of the House of Representatives to support the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" (H.R. 5939), introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) at the end of July.

21 Aug 2010

Review on energy drinks that claim athletic performance enhancement

Popular energy drinks promise better athletic performance and weight loss, but do the claims hold up? Not always, say researchers at Nova Southeastern University in Florida."Energy drinks typically feature caffeine and a combination of other ingredients, including taurine, sucrose, guarana, ginseng, niacin, pyridoxine and cyanocobalamin," says Stephanie Ballard, PharmD., assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Nova Southeastern University's West Palm Beach campus.

18 Aug 2010

Study unveils ways new moms can lose baby weight after childbirth

New moms who returned to work soon after delivery, had childcare help, breastfed, and did not experience postpartum depression were the ones most able to lose the baby weight within 6 months of giving birth, according to a new research study.

18 Aug 2010

Psychological support from health visitors prevents depression after child birth: Study

The world's first ever analysis of data from a full scale clinical trial in adults shows that training Health Visitors to assess and psychologically support mothers after childbirth can prevent the development of depression over the following year.But the substantial reduction in the number of NHS health visitors was identified by researchers as a key issue for the health and well-being of mums.

18 Aug 2010

Involuntary childlessness affects couples more negatively than previously reported

Test-tube fertilisation is the reason why more couples than previously now have the chance to become biological parents. However, the path to achieving this can be laborious and, for some, the treatment is unsuccessful. A thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, indicates that people are more negatively affected than previously reported in studies of involuntary childlessness.

16 Aug 2010

Aetna offers two RHP plans for companies in need of health care cover

Companies operating across the Middle East now have a new choice in health benefits plans from Aetna Global Benefits (AGB), the international business segment of Aetna, that provides additional flexibility in cover and affordability. The organisation has expanded its Regional Healthcare Plan (RHP) for companies in need of health care cover for their expatriate employees living across the region.

2 Aug 2010