Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Strong link between BMI and asthma in Hispanic youth

Children and adolescents who are overweight or obese are more likely to have asthma than their healthy weight counterparts, according to a new Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published in the online edition of Obesity. The study, which included more than 681,000 children between ages 6 and 19, found that the association between asthma and body mass index varied by race and ethnicity.

28 Feb 2012

LA BioMed to honor Women & Infants physician as 'Legend'

The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) recently announced that it will honor John E. Buster, MD, associate director of the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and Tufts Medical Center, as one of its three "Legends" this May.

28 Feb 2012

Greater patient and healthcare provider dialogue needed for morning sickness

Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) is the most common medical condition in pregnancy, affecting an estimated 70 to 85% of all pregnant women. Yet in a recent national survey of more than 350 nurse practitioners (NPs), only 40% of their patients reported experiencing NVP in the last 12 months, pointing to the need for greater patient and healthcare provider dialogue about the condition.

27 Feb 2012

FDA issues complete response letter for Watson's progesterone vaginal gel 8% NDA

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Columbia Laboratories, Inc. today confirmed that, as expected, Watson has received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its New Drug Application (NDA 22-139) for progesterone vaginal gel 8% for use in the reduction of risk of preterm birth in women with a singleton gestation and a short uterine cervical length in the mid-trimester of pregnancy.

27 Feb 2012

FDA panel votes in favor of earlier rejected anti-obesity drug Qnexa

Qnexa took a step closer to approval on Wednesday, when outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 20-to-2 in favor of approval. The panel also recommended the company conduct a study to scrutinize even more closely any risk of heart problems. That study may be required after the drug is approved. Should the FDA ask for further data on heart risks before any approval, it would delay Qnexa's launch further.

26 Feb 2012

Va. considering new abortion ultrasound bill after more controversial bill pulled

Fallout over Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's decision to pull support for a controversial ultrasound abortion bill continues as a similar piece of legislation, which would require a less-invasive ultrasound, winds through that state's legislature.

24 Feb 2012

Seven scientists aim to make strides in predicting and preventing preterm birth

With the help of funding from the March of Dimes, researchers from five states and Canada are seeking answers to questions such as how cellular-level processes that control uterine muscles may affect preterm labor, the causes of preeclampsia, and how air pollution may affect pregnancy and preterm birth - all with the goal of preventing preterm birth so more babies will get a healthy start in life.

24 Feb 2012

Calif. Medicaid chief promises dental changes for kids

California's state Medicaid chief is promising changes to dental care for kids, and North Carolina rolls out a medical home model for pregnant women.

24 Feb 2012

UA researchers identify the likely culprit of epilepsy

Only 10 years ago, deciphering the genetic information from one individual in a matter of weeks to find a certain disease-causing genetic mutation would have been written off as science fiction. It was the time of the Human Genome Project, and it had taken armies of sequencing robots working around the clock for almost a decade to unravel the complete sequence of the human genetic code - referred to as the genome - by churning out the DNA alphabet letter by letter.

24 Feb 2012

Children of immigrant parents more likely to develop autism with intellectual disability

A major register study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows that children born to certain groups of immigrants in Sweden had an increased risk of developing autism with intellectual disability. The study includes all children in Stockholm County from 2001 to 2007, and brings the question of the heredity of autism to the fore.

23 Feb 2012

Micronutrients affect methylation, linked to changes in the immune system

The offspring of women who were given micronutrient supplements (minerals needed in small quantities, such as iron, iodine and vitamin A) before they became pregnant had gene modifications at birth as well as when they were tested at 9 months.

23 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Real 'doc fix,' Saint Santorum and why Supreme Court TV is 'a bad idea'

In last week's flurry of budget deals, Congress patched together yet another temporary fix for a flawed formula used to calculate the fees paid to doctors by Medicare. It will hold payments flat for the next 10 months instead of cutting them by 27 percent as the formula required, and the $18 billion to pay for it will be taken from other health care programs. But the fix only lasts until the end of the year. On Jan. 1, doctors will face another big cut unless Congress again steps in.

23 Feb 2012

Targeting versican protein may help stop breast cancer metastasis

Oncologists have known that in order for cancer cells to spread, they must transform themselves so they can detach from a tumor and spread to a distant organ. Now, scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have revealed critical steps in what happens next -- how these cells reverse the process, morphing back into classical cancer that can now grow into a new tumor.

23 Feb 2012

FDA EMDAC recommends approval of VIVUS' Qnexa for obesity

VIVUS, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee recommended Qnexa be granted marketing approval by the FDA for the treatment of obesity in adults.

23 Feb 2012

Parental exposure to PFOA may increase risk of obesity in their daughters

The levels of the environmental pollutant perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) that mothers had in their blood during pregnancy increased the risk of obesity in their daughters at 20 years of age.

22 Feb 2012

Study examines impact of EHR on childhood obesity evaluation

Electronic health records and embedded tools can alert and direct pediatricians so they can better manage the weight of children and teenagers, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published online in The Journal of Pediatrics.

22 Feb 2012

Birth control issues crop up on the campaign trail

Republicans cast the debate over mandatory coverage as one of religious freedom, while Democrats frame it as a matter of women's health.

22 Feb 2012

State roundup: Calif. expands uninsured access, gives adult day care reprieve

Nearly two years before the federal health reform law kicks in, 10 California counties have expanded medical coverage to more than 250,000 people who were previously uninsured, according to new state data.

22 Feb 2012

Breastfeeding mother's consumption of caffeine may cause wakefulness and irritability in the baby

Babies are not able to metabolize or excrete caffeine very well, so a breastfeeding mother's consumption of caffeine may lead to caffeine accumulation and symptoms such as wakefulness and irritability, according to an interview with expert Ruth Lawrence, MD, published in Journal of Caffeine Research, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

22 Feb 2012

Immunization against flu during pregnancy can influence fetal growth

Vaccinating pregnant women against the influenza virus appears to have a significant positive effect on birth weight in babies, according to a study published in CMAJ.

22 Feb 2012