Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Anticancer benefit to giving birth after 30

Women who last give birth after the age of 30 years have a decreased risk for endometrial cancer, researchers report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

27 Jul 2012

HIV drug resistance: an interview with Dr. Silvia Bertagnolio

Sexual intercourse is the major mode of HIV transmission. HIV may also be transmitted through sharing of needles or contaminated blood products (although this is rare).

27 Jul 2012

FDA approves Horizon Pharma's RAYOS to treat key IL-6 mediated diseases

Horizon Pharma, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved RAYOS (prednisone) delayed-release tablets (1 mg, 2 mg and 5 mg) to treat a broad range of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

26 Jul 2012

Takeda, Sucampo file AMITIZA sNDA with FDA for treatment of opioid-induced constipation

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. Inc. today announced the filing of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for a new indication for AMITIZA (lubiprostone) for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with chronic, non-cancer pain.

26 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 26, 2012

Today's headlines include coverage of findings from a new study that indicate Medicaid may help people live longer.

26 Jul 2012

Risk of endometrial cancer begins to decrease after age 30 in women

Women who last give birth at age 40 or older have a 44 percent decreased risk of endometrial cancer when compared to women who have their last birth under the age of 25, according to strong evidence in a new, international study led by a researcher at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).

26 Jul 2012

Federal appeals court rules South Dakota can force doctors to warn of suicide risk before performing abortion

Reversing an earlier ruling, a South Dakota federal appeals court has ruled the state can require doctors to warn women before an abortion that they stand a greater risk of suicide.

26 Jul 2012

Recent release: HIV epidemic, family planning 'inextricably linked'

Noting "approximately 17 million women worldwide are currently living with HIV, with more than a million new infections in women of reproductive age each year," Suzanne Ehlers, president and CEO of Population Action International (PAI), and Charles Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), write in this guest post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog that "family planning and HIV are inextricably linked, especially for HIV-positive women who are pregnant or may become pregnant."

26 Jul 2012

Malaria misdiagnosis: an interview with Dr Toby Leslie

Malaria is caused by a multi-staged parasite which is transmitted by the bite of infected female anopheles mosquitoes. It affects millions of people and kills more than 500,000 people throughout the world every year.

26 Jul 2012

Excess maternal iodine supplementation can lead to congenital hypothyroidism in infants

Congenital hypothyroidism is thyroid hormone deficiency at birth that, if left untreated, can lead to neurocognitive impairments in infants and children. Although the World Health Organization recommends 200-300 -g of iodine daily during pregnancy for normal fetal thyroid hormone production and neurocognitive development, the US Institute of Medicine considers 1,100 -g to be the safe upper limit for daily ingestion.

26 Jul 2012

Parental job type influences risk for birth defects

Certain professions increase the likelihood for men having children with birth disorders, shows research published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

25 Jul 2012

Roundup: Plan for new Md. hospital advances; Outsourcing of prison health care gets scrutiny; Alaska Native medical center seen as model

Maryland officials are preparing to unveil this week a detailed plan for a $600 million regional hospital to replace the ailing Prince George's Hospital Center and establish a new health-care network throughout Prince George's County. The plans are part of a broad effort to improve health care in a county where an estimated 150,000 residents lack health insurance or have insufficient coverage and often rely on hospital emergency rooms for primary care.

24 Jul 2012

Symposium to support care and management of women with HIV

International AIDS Conference, Washington D.C., USA: Women for Positive Action are holding an interactive satellite symposium at the AIDS 2012 Conference entitled Turning the tide in the care of women living with HIV, supporting the care and management of women living with HIV throughout their different life stages.

24 Jul 2012

Placenta underlies reduced fetal movement

Poor perinatal outcome after the maternal perception of reduced fetal movement is linked to factors associated with placental dysfunction, say experts.

23 Jul 2012

Test for motile sperm improves ICSI outcomes

Researchers have developed a new sperm test that could improve pregnancy rates among women treated with intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

23 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 23, 2012

In this Kaiser Health News video, Greg Millett, a senior policy advisor in the Office of National AIDS Policy, tells Joanne Silberner that the president's National HIV/AIDS Strategy has improved coordination among federal agencies and that the 2010 health law will improve access to care for those living with HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

Kids with T13 or 18 and their families lead a happy life

Children with trisomy 13 or 18, who are for the most part severely disabled and have a very short life expectancy, and their families lead a life that is happy and rewarding overall, contrary to the usually gloomy predictions made by the medical community at the time of diagnosis, according to a study of parents who are members of support groups published today in Pediatrics.

23 Jul 2012

Researchers identify high ARV drug exposure in hair samples of HIV uninfected infants

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Makerere University in Uganda have used hair and blood samples from three-month old infants born to HIV-positive mothers to measure the uninfected babies' exposure—both in the womb and from breast-feeding—to antiretroviral medications their mothers were taking. The results, they said, are surprising.

23 Jul 2012

Many patients may benefit from day 5 embryo biopsy

Over the last several years Carolina Conceptions has been offering embryo biopsy to rule out chromosomal abnormalities and genetic diseases in future pregnancies. One of the downsides of the technique was that biopsies were performed after 3 days of embryo culture, which was later discovered to limit the ability of the embryo to undergo normal development. This actually reduced the chance of pregnancy, often erasing any advantage that was provided by the biopsy procedure.

21 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Creating an HIV-free generation; Postal Service's struggle over retiree health benefits

HIV forces us to deal with so much: sex, drugs, poverty, racism, homelessness, homophobia, sexism, illness and death. While our nation's response has been imperfect, we have gotten a lot right. And we are now at a pivotal moment where science has led us to imagine the possibility of an HIV-free generation.

21 Jul 2012