Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

More investment in family planning and pregnancy-related care will reduce maternal and newborn deaths

Maternal deaths in developing countries could be slashed by 70% and newborn deaths cut nearly in half if the world doubled investment in family planning and pregnancy-related care, shows a new report by the Guttmacher Institute and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Currently, more than half a million maternal deaths and 3.5 million newborn deaths, many of them easily preventable, occur each year in developing countries.

4 Dec 2009

New SPC3649 drug found effective in treating HCV infections

In a dramatic finding, a new drug for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections that targets liver cells produced a substantial drop in blood levels of the virus in animals and continued to work up to several months after treatment, say scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio.

4 Dec 2009

Breastfeeding a child may lower a woman's risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome

Breastfeeding a child may lower a woman's risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome, a condition linked to heart disease and diabetes in women, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that was published today online ahead of print and will appear in the February issue of Diabetes, a journal of the American Diabetes Association.

4 Dec 2009

Breastfeeding reduces a woman's risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome

3 Dec 2009

Sperm from men with NOA and OA capable of producing embryos

It has been thought that men with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), a lack of sperm in the semen not caused by an obstruction within the reproductive system, are poor candidates for IVF. Now, researchers writing in the open access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology have shown that sperm from men with NOA and obstructive azoospermia (OA) are equally capable of producing embryos.

3 Dec 2009

Bishop-endorsed healthcare system can undermine medical treatments and preventative measures

If the Catholic bishops have their way, many medical treatments and preventative measures we take for granted may be under threat. The pressure that the US bishops have brought to bear on the debate over healthcare reform has been widely reported.

3 Dec 2009

More than 80 abstracts highlighting Bristol-Myers Squibb's oncology compound to be presented

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that more than 80 abstracts highlighting compounds from the company’s oncology portfolio will be presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) to be held December 5-8 in New Orleans.

3 Dec 2009

Beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs linked to autism-spectrum disorders

Commonly prescribed beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs for the treatment of asthma in pregnant women as well as pre-term labor may increase the incidence of autism-spectrum disorders, psychiatric pathology, cognitive problems and poor school performance in their children, according to a new study published in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

3 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

Once upon a time, grass-roots women challenged the establishment by figuratively burning their bras. Now, in some masochistic perversion of feminism, they are raising their voices to yell, "Squeeze our breasts!" (Barbara Ehrenreich, 12/2).

2 Dec 2009

Integrated eating disorders center to be launched shortly

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, in affiliation with the New York State Psychiatric Institute, announced the creation of an integrated eating disorders center. Opening today is a key clinical component of this new center -- The Outlook at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division in White Plains.

2 Dec 2009

New data demonstrating the strength of Novartis' hematology portfolio to be presented

Novartis announced today that new data, including a late-breaking presentation on Tasigna® (nilotinib) 200 mg capsules in a form of chronic myeloid leukemia, demonstrate the strength of the company's hematology portfolio in advancing the care of patients.

2 Dec 2009

Beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs can increase risk of autism-spectrum disorders in developing fetus

2 Dec 2009

Controlling NTDs can improve reproductive health and rights of women in poor countries

Controlling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in developing countries would help improve the reproductive health and rights of girls and women in the poorest countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, according to a new editorial published November 24 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

2 Dec 2009

New nursing guideline to enhance improved care for MMT clients

A pregnant woman walks into a hospital in early labour. She feels nauseated and achy; her contractions are 20 minutes apart. There is more to her story than meets the eye. She is on methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) and wasn't able to pick up her daily dose at the pharmacy this morning. Although her story may be hard to believe she is one of the estimated 17,000 clients in Ontario currently receiving MMT.

2 Dec 2009

J&JPRD submits an NDA for tapentadol ER tablets

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. announced today that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for tapentadol extended release (ER) tablets, an investigational oral analgesic for the management of moderate to severe chronic pain in patients 18 years of age or older.

2 Dec 2009

Chembio Diagnostics donates over 4,500 HIV test kits for the 2009 Testing Millions Global Campaign

Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., a NY-based company that develops, manufactures, licenses and markets proprietary rapid diagnostic tests, is donating more than 4,500 rapid HIV test kits to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's 2009 Testing Millions Global Campaign, based in Los Angeles, to commemorate World AIDS Day 2009 on December 1st.

1 Dec 2009

AHF lauds WHO for its crucial HIV treatment recommendations

On the eve of World AIDS Day 2009, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) praised the World Health Organization (WHO) for its new HIV treatment recommendations which include starting lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART) earlier (at a t-cell count of <350 cells/mm3 instead of <200) for all HIV-positive adults and adolescents and earlier treatment initiation for HIV-positive pregnant women who should now begin treatment at 14 weeks into pregnancy, rather than 28 weeks as previously recommended, and continue until the end of breastfeeding.

1 Dec 2009

Department of Health reminds Pennsylvanians to be tested regularly for HIV

In recognition of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, Department of Health Secretary Everette James today reminded Pennsylvanians to be tested regularly for HIV - the virus that causes AIDS.

1 Dec 2009

MAbs for early detection of cancer

Two sets of recommendations issued earlier this month have revised longstanding guidelines concerning the age at which women should first be tested for breast and cervical cancer and how frequently.

1 Dec 2009

Women with gestational glucose intolerance at risk of metabolic syndrome

Women who have gestational glucose intolerance (a condition less severe than gestational diabetes) exhibit multiple cardiovascular risk factors as early as three months after birth, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

1 Dec 2009