Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Drinking sugar-sweetened cola a week prior to pregnancy elevates diabetes during pregnancy

Researchers from LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, have found for the first time that drinking more than 5 servings of sugar- sweetened cola a week prior to pregnancy appears to significantly elevate the risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy.

1 Dec 2009

MRI can identify placenta accreta in pregnant women, reveals study

A study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) revealed that MRI is a highly accurate means of identifying placenta accreta, a potentially life-threatening and increasingly common condition that is the leading cause of death for women just before and after giving birth.

1 Dec 2009

WHO issues new HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines

The WHO on Monday issued new recommendations that patients living with HIV/AIDS begin receiving antiretrovirals (ARVs) earlier than current HIV treatment advice suggests, the Associated Press reports

1 Dec 2009

Presentations at Tuesday's RSNA conference

A new study from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center reports that beverage can stay-tabs pose a potential ingestion risk. In the 1970s, U.S. manufacturers switched to the stay-tab design after safety concerns about pull-tabs. The new study found 19 cases of stay-tab ingestion at a single institution, mainly among teenagers.

30 Nov 2009

Dr. Gail Harrison to receive the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award

A nutritionist whose research was instrumental in adding fruits and vegetables to the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food subsidy will receive the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for outstanding achievement in the field of maternal-fetal nutrition.

27 Nov 2009

Scientists offer first genetic proof of new and rational treatment for osteoporosis

The so-called RANK protein and the molecule that binds to it, the RANK ligand or RANKL, form a focus of the work of Josef Penninger, director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna. In 1999 his group deleted the RANKL gene from mice and showed that the RANK/RANKL system was the "master regulator" governing bone loss (Kong et al. 1999 Nature 402, 304-309).

26 Nov 2009

Additional data on lubiprostone presented at the GASTRO 2009 UEGF/WCOG meeting

Sucampo Pharma Europe, Ltd., and Sucampo Pharma Americas, Inc., subsidiaries of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today presented additional clinical data for lubiprostone (Amitiza®) at GASTRO 2009 UEGF/WCOG, the joint meeting of the United European Gastroenterology Federation (UEGF), the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO), the World Organisation of Digestive Endoscopy (OMED) and the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), in London.

25 Nov 2009

TMCI announces a national rollout of its successful "Plan" to reach the nation's teen moms

Lee Daniels' gritty indie film "Precious” follows a suffering pregnant girl struggling against impossible odds. Producer and director Daniels said on NPR's Fresh Air, "I know the cycle has to stop. And that's the beauty of 'Precious.'"

25 Nov 2009

Alpha-fetoprotein, a well-tolerated agent for treatment and prevention of breast cancer

Researchers have found that hormones produced during pregnancy induce a protein that directly inhibits the growth of breast cancer. This protein, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), may serve as a viable, well-tolerated agent for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer, according to findings published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

25 Nov 2009

IPS examines next year's UNGASS on MDGs, improvements in maternal health

Inter Press Service reports that the September 2010 U.N. Generally Assembly meeting will feature a three-day special session (UNGASS) on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

24 Nov 2009

Medical advances abound while surgeons report concerns about medical errors

The Wall Street Journal reports on "20 health-care advances to give thanks for this Thanksgiving." Among the most key: "Life expectancy in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 77.9 years in 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available, continuing a long upward trend. (That's 75.3 years for men and 80.4 years for women.) ... Death rates dropped significantly for eight of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S., including cancer, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, accidents, diabetes, homicides and pneumonia, from 2006 to 2007."

24 Nov 2009

DSS sets evidence-based guidelines and definitions to treat type 2 diabetes

A first-of-its-kind consensus statement on diabetes surgery is published online today in the Annals of Surgery. The report illustrates the findings of the first international consensus conference -- Diabetes Surgery Summit (DSS) -- where an international group of more than 50 scientific and medical experts agreed on a set of evidence-based guidelines and definitions that are meant to guide the use and study of gastrointestinal surgery to treat type 2 diabetes. The document is considered to be the foundation of diabetes surgery as a medical discipline of its own.

24 Nov 2009

U.S. Court rules in Merck's favor in Flemings case involving FOSAMAX

Merck said today that U.S. District Court Judge John F. Keenan granted summary judgment in Merck's favor in Flemings v. Merck. Flemings is the second of three cases involving FOSAMAX (alendronate sodium) designated by the federal MDL court as a bellwether trial case.

24 Nov 2009

Misconceptions about contraception contribute to lack of family-planning n Uganda

University of Alberta graduate student Jennifer Heys wants to make her message clear: there needs to be more education in Ugandan communities about contraception.

24 Nov 2009

Media examines food summit reaction, malnutrition in Liberia, Yemen

VOA News reports on reactions from last week's U.N. World Summit on Food Security in Rome: "The delegates in Rome promised to continue efforts to reduce by half the number of hungry people by two thousand fifteen. But critics pointed out that world leaders made a similar promise more than ten years ago. Several countries promised to increase aid for agriculture, to help developing nations become more independent. Still, critics deplored a lack of greater action" (Simms, 11/22).

23 Nov 2009

Walgreens re-launches its website with expanded shopping tools and services

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain and a leading destination for health and wellness services, today announced the re-launch of Walgreens.com (www.walgreens.com), offering users a variety of new healthy living and product resources, along with expanded yet simplified shopping tools and services.

23 Nov 2009

Alcohol consumption in pregnancy affects child behaviour in different ways: Study

A new study from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has found evidence that the amount and timing of alcohol consumption in pregnancy affects child behaviour in different ways.

23 Nov 2009

Children exposed to lead and tobacco are 2.4 times more likely to have ADHD

Children exposed prenatally to tobacco smoke and during childhood to lead face a particularly high risk for ADHD, according to research done at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

23 Nov 2009

Scientists discover new potential target for treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, or white blood cells. By exploiting this mechanism, researchers have been able to powerfully suppress tumor formation in lab testing and in animal models.

22 Nov 2009

Genetic sonogram improves accuracy of noninvasive prenatal screening and detection of Down syndrome

The addition of a "genetic sonogram" maximizes the accuracy of non-invasive testing for Down syndrome, said a Baylor College of Medicine researcher who was lead author of a landmark study in the current issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

21 Nov 2009