Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Long-lasting weekly fertility injections work as well as daily

New long-lasting weekly injections of fertility hormones are as safe and effective as standard daily injections, according to Cochrane researchers. The researchers compared weekly and daily hormone injections in a Cochrane systematic review and found no difference in pregnancies or serious side effects between the two regimens.

13 Jun 2012

Researchers identify two proteins that are required to maintain kidney stem cells

Studying mice and humans, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and their collaborators in Paris have identified two proteins that are required to maintain a supply of stem cells in the developing kidney.

12 Jun 2012

IVF linked to increased relapse rate among MS patients

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is linked to an increased rate of relapse among women with multiple sclerosis (MS), suggests a small study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

12 Jun 2012

Increased risk of brain aneurysm linked to early menopause

The younger a woman is when she goes through the menopause, the greater may be her risk of having a brain (cerebral) aneurysm, suggests research published online first in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.

12 Jun 2012

Opinion pieces published in advance of 'Child Survival Call to Action' event to take place in Washington

The following are summaries of several opinion pieces published in anticipation of the Child Survival Call to Action event to be held on June 14-15 in Washington, D.C. Convened by the Governments of United States, Ethiopia and India, and organized in close collaboration with UNICEF, the event will focus on ending preventable child death through the survival of newborns, children and mothers and will convene 700 prominent leaders from government, the private sector, faith-based organizations and civil society to kick off a long-term, focused effort to save children's lives.

12 Jun 2012

New liquid stable homocysteine kit from Randox

The new liquid stable homocysteine kit from Randox provides a convenient and accurate method for the determination of homocysteine in human serum and plasma. Homocysteine is a potential indicator of a number of disease markers and should therefore be an integral part of a laboratory’s testing menu.

From Randox Laboratories Ltd. 11 Jun 2012

New understanding about how placental growth is regulated before birth

Scientists at the Babraham Institute have gained a new understanding of how the growth of the placenta is regulated before birth, which has important implications for a healthy pregnancy.

11 Jun 2012

Genentech receives FDA approval for Perjeta to treat HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Perjeta (pertuzumab), a new anti-HER2 therapy, to treat patients with HER2-positive late-stage (metastatic) breast cancer.

10 Jun 2012

Discovery answers why mother's immune system does not reject developing fetus as foreign tissue

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have made an important discovery that partially answers the long-standing question of why a mother's immune system does not reject a developing fetus as foreign tissue.

8 Jun 2012

Forbes interviews UNFPA Executive Director regarding global progress in reducing maternal mortality

In this post in the Forbes "Leadership" blog, contributor Rahim Kanani interviews U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin about a report titled "Trends in maternal mortality: 1990 to 2010" -- released by UNFPA, WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank in May -- "which shows that the annual number of women who die in pregnancy or childbirth has dropped from more than 543,000 to 287,000, a decline of 47 percent."

8 Jun 2012

La. gov. signs bill increasing wait time between mandatory ultrasound, abortion

The bill signed by Bobby Jindal would also require abortion providers to offer women the opportunity to listen to the fetal heartbeat. In other abortion news, a Michigan legislative panel endorses a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

8 Jun 2012

What are vitamins?

Most people have heard of vitamin C and its effects upon the body; but how much do you know about other vitamins? How many even are there? And what do they all do?

8 Jun 2012

Preterm birth rates over past 20 years only dropped in 3 countries

Nearly 15 million babies were born prematurely in 2010—more than one in ten of all births. Sixty percent of these premature babies were born in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, but this is not just a problem of the poorest nations: the USA (517 000 preterm births) and Brazil (279 300) ranked in the top ten countries with the highest number of premature births in 2010. Worse still, over the past 20 years preterm birth rates have decreased in just three countries, according to the first ever national level estimates and time series published in this week’s Lancet.

8 Jun 2012

Successful pregnancies common for female liver transplant recipients

New research confirms that successful pregnancies are common for female liver transplant recipients. The study appearing in the June issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, found miscarriage risk was lower and the live birth rate higher among women following liver transplantation than in the general U.S. population.

7 Jun 2012

WHO warns of drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea

"Drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea have spread to countries across the world, the U.N. health agency said on Wednesday, and millions of patients may run out of treatment options unless doctors catch and treat cases earlier," Reuters reports.

7 Jun 2012

WHO calls for greater vigilance on correct use of antibiotics against gonorrhoea

Millions of people with gonorrhoea may be at risk of running out of treatment options unless urgent action is taken, according to WHO. Already several countries, including Australia, France, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom are reporting cases of resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics - the last treatment option against gonorrhoea. Every year an estimated 106 million people are infected with gonorrhea, which is transmitted sexually.

7 Jun 2012

Study reviews role of gut microbes in nutrient absorption and energy regulation

Microorganisms in the human gastrointestinal tract form an intricate, living fabric made up of some 500 to 1000 distinct bacterial species, (in addition to other microbes). Recently, researchers have begun to untangle the subtle role these diverse life forms play in maintaining health and regulating weight.

7 Jun 2012

Study determines transgenerational effects of cannabinoid exposure in adolescent female rats

Mothers who use marijuana as teens-long before having children-may put their future children at a higher risk of drug abuse, new research suggests.

6 Jun 2012

Iron and micronutrient-enriched foodstuffs can fight against anaemia

Iron deficiency and the anaemia it can cause are a major public health problem, affecting 2 billion people worldwide: mostly young children and pregnant women in developing countries. Despite decades of research into prevention and treatment, the situation is not improving, and is even deteriorating in some countries. Africa and India have the highest levels of anaemia, with more than 50% of women affected. In India, the illness is thought to cause up to 40% of maternal deaths.

6 Jun 2012

Lilly announces final results from ALIMTA Phase III study on NSCLC

Final results from PARAMOUNT, a Phase III study of ALIMTA (pemetrexed for injection) in the continuation maintenance setting, demonstrated improved overall survival in patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with ALIMTA continuation maintenance, according to data announced today by Eli Lilly and Company.

5 Jun 2012