Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Study of Chicago neighborhoods tracks prevalence of five key public health issues

The south and southwest sides of Chicago suffer the most in terms of residents' health and access to basic health resources, according to a new study of 77 Chicago neighborhoods.

17 Aug 2011

Moderate social drinking reduces risk of dementia and cognitive impairment

Moderate social drinking significantly reduces the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment, according to an analysis of 143 studies by Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers.

17 Aug 2011

Study suggests link between pre-pregnancy obesity and asthma symptoms in teen children

Mums who are overweight or obese when they become pregnant may be programming their children to have asthma-like respiratory symptoms during adolescence, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

16 Aug 2011

AHRQ's new Spanish-language guide on heart medications

A free, illustrated easy-to-read pamphlet that compares drugs for preventing heart attacks, heart failure or strokes in people with stable coronary heart disease is one of six new Spanish-language publications from HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that help patients compare treatments for common illnesses.

16 Aug 2011

Anti-health law measure secures place on Ohio ballot; mental health improvements hit snags in Milwaukee

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would block implementation of President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul law can appear on the ballot this fall. The ruling came on the same day that a federal appeals court in Atlanta struck down the requirement in the law that Americans either carry health insurance or face penalties.

16 Aug 2011

Enrollment commences in RegeneRx RGN-259 Phase 2 trial for dry eye syndrome

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the first patients have been enrolled and randomized to receive RGN-259 or placebo in its 72-patient, Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with dry eye syndrome.

16 Aug 2011

Pregnant women lack enough vitamin D despite use of prenatal supplements

Pregnant women taking prenatal supplements may not be getting enough vitamin D, shows a new Vancouver-based study led by the Child & Family Research Institute at BC Children's Hospital that was published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

12 Aug 2011

Blood test early in pregnancy to detect baby’s gender

While carrying the child, a mother's blood has cell-free fetal DNA floating around in it, and it's possible to use this to test for the baby's sex. In a meta-analysis that covered more, the test was found to be 95% efficient in guessing the sex of the fetus — and it works from as early as seven weeks. As the fetus and the placenta develop, the amount of DNA present in the mother increases, boosting the accuracy of the test, which hits its peak at 20 weeks.

12 Aug 2011

State roundup: Debt deal and states; Ariz. judge appoves Medicaid plan

Many expensive programs are exempt from the trigger cuts, including most that are considered "mandatory," which means that some of the largest joint state-federal programs aren't vulnerable. Those include Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare) and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.

12 Aug 2011

Northern California's pregnant women have higher PBDE flame retardant exposures

A new study finds that pregnant women in Northern California have the highest PBDE flame retardant exposures reported to date among pregnant women worldwide.

11 Aug 2011

Teen pregnancy contagious to sisters: Study

According to a new study teenage pregnancy and motherhood is contagious within families. Scientists have discovered that the sister of a teenage mother is twice as likely to follow in her footsteps as a girl with no family experience of early motherhood.

10 Aug 2011

Child’s food preferences could be determined in womb: Study

According to the latest research from Monell Chemical Senses Center mothers can influence a baby's palate and food memories before it is born. The study finds that what a woman eats during her pregnancy shapes the baby's food preferences later in life.

10 Aug 2011

Pink or blue – now find out at 7 weeks of pregnancy

Now a simple blood test can determine a baby’s sex as early as seven weeks into pregnancy and is highly accurate if used correctly. Experts believe this will have a great impact on parents concerned about gender-linked diseases and those who are merely curious, as well as people considering the more ethically controversial step of selecting the sex of their children.

10 Aug 2011

Wives share more about infertility than husbands in online social network

Couples who are having trouble getting pregnant adjust how much information they share with friends and family, depending on whether it's the husband or the wife who feels stigmatized about their reproductive difficulties, a new study shows.

10 Aug 2011

Noninvasive prenatal DNA test can detect fetus at risk for sex-linked disorders

As a noninvasive method of determining the sex of a fetus, tests using cell-free fetal DNA obtained from the mother's blood after 7 weeks gestation performed well, while urine-based tests appear to be unreliable, according to a review and analysis of previous studies, reported in the August 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Aug 2011

Researchers use SNAP technology to assess fetal gene expression in amniotic fluid

Researchers have demonstrated the feasibility of focused fetal gene expression analysis of target genes found in amniotic fluid using Standardized NanoArray PCR (SNAP) technology.

8 Aug 2011

VIVUS announces additional data from phase 3 QNEXA studies on obesity

VIVUS, Inc. today announced that additional data from the phase 3 QNEXA studies will be presented today during the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) meeting in Las Vegas, NV.

6 Aug 2011

TrustLaw publishes special report on child marriage

TrustLaw, a Thomson Reuters Foundation service, on Thursday published a series of articles, infographics and videos in a special report on child marriage. According to the series homepage, "every day, 25,000 girls under the age of 18 are married worldwide. For many child brides, a future of poverty, exploitation and poor health awaits".

5 Aug 2011

U.S. physicians spend more time, money for interaction with health plans than Canadian doctors

Physicians in the United States spend nearly four times as much dealing with health insurers and payers compared with doctors in Canada. Most of the difference stems from the fact that Canadian physicians deal with a single payer, in contrast to the multiple payers in the United States.

5 Aug 2011