Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Comparable data on maternal and infant in Europe available for the first time

Promoting healthy pregnancy and safe childbirth is a goal of all European health care systems.

12 Dec 2008

Scans show immune cells intercepting parasites

Researchers may have identified one of the body's earliest responses to a group of parasites that causes illness in developing nations.

10 Dec 2008

Carrier screening for spinal muscular atrophy should be offered to all couples

Carrier screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) - a serious genetic disease affecting approximately 1 in 10,000 infants that causes progressive muscle weakness and death - should be made available to all families, according to a new practice guideline issued by the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG).

10 Dec 2008

Pregnant women warned not to use statins

Pregnant women or those hoping to start or extend a family should avoid using the cholesterol-lowering drugs statins, say scientists.

From The University of Manchester 10 Dec 2008

Women waiting longer to start a family

The latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Australia's Mothers and Babies 2006 - says that women are waiting longer to start a family.

9 Dec 2008

Untimely death of Kerryn McCann a stark warning

The revelation that champion marathon runner Kerryn McCann did nothing for months after discovering a lump in her breast, is a stark warning to women to heed any changes they notice in their breasts and seek medical advice.

9 Dec 2008

Light cigarettes may be more toxic than traditional cigarettes

Typically, tobacco companies market harm-reduction cigarettes as being safer than traditional "full-flavored" brands, leading many smokers to conclude that the use of harm-reduction brands lowers their exposure to toxicants.

8 Dec 2008

Recombinant human antithrombin drug decreases risk to pregnancy and surgery patients with hereditary antithrombin deficiency

Pregnancy and surgery patients with a serious blood disorder that causes excessive clotting have responded well to treatment with a man-made anti-clotting protein.

8 Dec 2008

Biomarkers in blood could aid diagnosis of two severe and debilitating forms of malaria

Canadian researchers have identified protein biomarkers that shed new light on the development of two severe and debilitating forms of malaria.

8 Dec 2008

Migraines linked to lower risk of breast cancer

Women who suffer from migraines may take at least some comfort in a recent, first-of-its-kind study that suggests a history of such headaches is associated with a significantly lower risk of breast cancer. Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center report these findings in the November issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

7 Dec 2008

Environmental tobacco smoke linked to behavioral problems in boys with asthma

Boys with asthma who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems, according to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

5 Dec 2008

New insights into development of the human immune system

A UCSF study has found that a surprisingly high number of maternal cells enters the fetus during pregnancy, prompting the generation of special immune cells in the fetus that suppress a response against the mother.

5 Dec 2008

Pregnant women with asthma can be more confident about some medicines

Women can usually keep using the same asthma drugs they were using before they got pregnant.

3 Dec 2008

Avoid stress and exercise lots during pregnancy

New Australian research has found that even minor, everyday stress during pregnancy possibly affects a developing foetus.

2 Dec 2008

Vitamin D enhances placental innate immunity

In a paper available at the online site of the journal Biology of Reproduction, a team of UCLA researchers reports for the first time that vitamin D induces immune responses in placental tissues by stimulating production of the antimicrobial protein cathelicidin.

1 Dec 2008

Place of birth plays a role in the occurrence of asthma in U.S black population

The researchers found that within one inner-city population, blacks born in the United States were more likely to have asthma than blacks who were born outside of the United States.

1 Dec 2008

Babies exposed to tobacco in utero more irritable, difficult to soothe

Previous studies have shown that babies exposed to tobacco in utero are more likely to have a low birth weight and are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome.

1 Dec 2008

Exposure to folic acid antagonists during pregnancy has risks

Exposure to folic acid antagonists during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of placenta-mediated adverse outcomes such as preeclampsia, placental abruption, fetal growth restriction or fetal death reports a retrospective cohort study published in CMAJ.

1 Dec 2008

High levels of prenatal smoking exposure affects sleep in early babies

A study in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first to show that high levels of prenatal smoking exposure strongly modify sleep patterns in preterm neonates, which places infants at a higher risk for developmental difficulties that could persist throughout early and middle childhood.

1 Dec 2008

New cream for vaginal dryness approved

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its subsidiary Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s New Drug Application (NDA) for Synthetic Conjugated Estrogens-A (SCE-A) 0.625 mg/g Vaginal Cream.

1 Dec 2008