Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

FDA grants approval for Abbott's antiretroviral medication Norvir

Abbott announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval of a new tablet formulation of the company's antiretroviral medication Norvir ® (ritonavir). The new Norvir tablets can be stored at room temperature and do not require refrigeration, making it more convenient for patients.

11 Feb 2010

Daiichi Sankyo's Benicar receives FDA approval for hypertension treatment in children and adolescents aged 6-16

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the hypertension treatment Benicar® (olmesartan medoxomil) for use in children and adolescents 6 to 16 years of age. Benicar was originally approved in 2002 for the treatment of hypertension in adults.

11 Feb 2010

Current research underway to prevent preterm births

Family history, infection and stress all may play a role in raising a woman's risk of having a premature baby - but they don't fully explain why some women give birth too soon and others don't, according to a review article published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

11 Feb 2010

Preterm birth: Pre-pregnancy obesity and gestational weight gain increase risk

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) Slone Epidemiology Center and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have found that pre-pregnancy obesity and gestational weight gain are associated with an increased risk of preterm birth in African American participants from the Black Women's Health Study. This study currently appears on-line in Epidemiology.

11 Feb 2010

LUHS nurses earn professional certifications

Several Loyola University Health System (LUHS) nurses have earned professional certifications in their clinical areas of expertise. This indicates that LUHS nurses meet strong professional development standards and competencies.

11 Feb 2010

Contraceptive sex education and 'empowerment' for ten-year-old children

International Planned Parenthood Foundation's recently released report, "Stand and Deliver: Sex, Health and Young People in the 21st Century," advocates policies that jeopardize the well-being of children's health, the importance of parents and the moral values of our society, Family Research Council said today.

10 Feb 2010

Findings reveal underlying mechanisms that make TV drama more persuasive to women viewers

A fictional television drama may be more effective in persuading young women to use birth control than a news-format program on the same issue, according to a new study.

10 Feb 2010

Restricted fetal growth during first trimester linked to maternal high blood pressure and hematocrit levels

Factors such as maternal high blood pressure and high hematocrit levels (the proportion of blood that consists of red blood cells) are associated with a greater likelihood of restricted fetal growth during the first trimester, with restricted growth linked to an increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, according to a study in the February 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Feb 2010

Antimalarial medicines in African countries are substandard, says QAMSA study

The first results from a large-scale study of key antimalarial medicines in ten Sub-Saharan African countries reveal that a high percentage of medicines circulating on national markets are of substandard quality and thus may contribute to the growth of drug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent form of malaria.

10 Feb 2010

Autism Speaks: Ten most significant autism research achievements in 2009

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization has released its annual list of the 10 most significant research achievements to have impacted autism during the previous year. Every year, Autism Speaks documents the progress made toward its mission to discover the causes and treatment for autism spectrum disorders, and compiles a list of the 10 most significant research achievements to have impacted autism during the previous year.

10 Feb 2010

Measles vaccine does not increase risk of autism in children, reveals Polish study

As a pivotal paper linking childhood vaccinations to autism is discredited, a new study finds no evidence that the measles vaccine—given alone or as part of a combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine—increases the risk of autism in children. The study appears in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (www.pidj.com), published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

10 Feb 2010

New Success Prime IVF Program launched

Reproductive Partners Medical Group, Inc. announces the launch of the Success Prime IVF Program, an IVF money back guarantee for best-case patients.

10 Feb 2010

Maternal obesity increases offspring's risk of developing inflammation-related disorders

As if there are not enough reasons for obese people to lose weight, a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), adds several more. In a study involving rats, researchers from Duke University found that obesity in mothers causes cellular programming in utero that predisposes offspring to inflammation-related disorders (such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and more) from the day that they are born, regardless of whether or not the offspring are obese themselves.

10 Feb 2010

Drinking milk during pregnancy can protect baby against multiple sclerosis

Drinking milk during pregnancy may help reduce your baby's chances of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as an adult, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010.

10 Feb 2010

New Multi-Cycle program reduces risk of infertility treatment for older mothers

Fertility experts at the Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area (RSC) announced they have launched a new program from IntegraMed geared toward easing the risk of infertility treatment for qualified women of ages 49 and younger who want to use their own eggs in order to achieve pregnancy.

10 Feb 2010

Egg consumption does not raise blood cholesterol

February is American Heart Month, which means it's time to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in America.

9 Feb 2010

Researchers study link between premature births and cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) has increased in infants born prematurely in the United States, according to data presented by researchers from Loyola University Health System (LUHS). These findings were reported at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago.

9 Feb 2010

New nursing education modules now available from March of Dimes

For nurses seeking up-to-date and cost-effective continuing education on the care of mothers and babies, the March of Dimes is now offering three new publications (modules).

9 Feb 2010

60% of pregnant women never tested for CHD

Three out of five women who have given birth to a child with a congenital heart defect (CHD) -- the number-one birth defect and leading killer of infants and newborns -- were never tested for the defect during pregnancy. This is according to a survey just released by Little Hearts, Inc., a national organization that provides support, education, resources, networking and hope to families affected by congenital heart defects.

9 Feb 2010

Study indicates women receiving antiretroviral therapy are more likely to become pregnant

In PLoS Medicine this week a study conducted in a multi-country HIV treatment program in sub-Saharan Africa has found that pregnancy rates increase in HIV-infected women after they start antiretroviral therapy (ART).

9 Feb 2010