Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

What to do with leftover embryos in fertility clinics?

The majority of infertility patients are in favor of using left-over embryos for stem cell research and would also support selling left-over embryos to other couples, according to a recent survey.

24 Sep 2008

Exercise helps pregnant women quit smoking

New research from the United Kingdom has found that exercise is effective in helping pregnant women quit smoking.

24 Sep 2008

Thai health experts call for review of prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission program

Health experts in Thailand are calling for a review of the country's national program to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, which follows World Health Organization guidelines, the Bangkok Post reports.

24 Sep 2008

Abortion rate declines to lowest level since 1974; disparities persist, study finds

Although abortion rates have declined among all racial and ethnic groups and are at the lowest level since 1974, the rate for black and Hispanic women remains three to five times higher than that of whites, according to an analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, the Washington Post reports.

24 Sep 2008

Obesity linked to repeated miscarriages

Research carried out by specialists in Britain has found that women who have experienced a number of miscarriages are more likely to continue to miscarry if they are obese - they say obesity significantly increases the risk of further miscarriages.

23 Sep 2008

Algeria, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia successfully reach malaria elimination phase

Algeria, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are among 10 countries worldwide that have successfully reached the elimination phase for malaria primarily because of improvements in disease interventions, according to the World Malaria Report 2008, which was released last week by the World Health Organization, the Middle East Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Antibiotics in preterm labour linked to cerebral palsy in infants

New research has linked the practice of giving antibiotics to some women at risk of premature birth to cerebral palsy and other problems in infants.

18 Sep 2008

Mother's flu shot protects newborns

Newborns can be protected from seasonal flu when their mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

17 Sep 2008

Australian men picking HIV up from unsafe sex overseas

A conference in Perth, Australia, has heard that six men in Cairns have contracted HIV after travelling to Papua New Guinea and the news has alarmed health authorities and raised concern that there may be more undetected cases in the area.

17 Sep 2008

Ethics of screening for Down Syndrome under question

A new analysis has revealed some troubling facts regarding the universally available genetic screening test for Down syndrome.

17 Sep 2008

Americans warned about deep vein thrombosis

Americans have been warned from top experts to learn about and prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

16 Sep 2008

Staph infection a possible suspect in some SIDS cases

Australian researchers believe that some cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) may be caused by the bacterial infection Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

15 Sep 2008

Genetic mutation prevents fetal malaria transmission, study says

A genetic mutation of the fetal gene sFlt1 might protect fetuses of first-time pregnant women from contracting malaria, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ANI/Thaindian News reports.

11 Sep 2008

World Vision report finds young brides at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS

A report recently released by World Vision has found that girls in developing countries who marry before age 18 -- whose numbers are expected to double to 100 million in the next 10 years -- are at an increased risk of HIV/AIDS, Reuters reports.

9 Sep 2008

Depression and autism are subjects of public forum on research

The University of Rochester Medical Center will present a forum on the progress of mental health research Sunday Sept. 14.

8 Sep 2008

Prenatal behavioral counseling can reduce some health risk factors among low-income black women

Pregnant black women who participate in a few sessions of behavioral counseling are more likely to reduce certain risky behaviors than those who participate in standard prenatal care, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, Reuters Health reports.

7 Sep 2008

60% of women use herbal products during pregnancy

Almost 60% of women use at least one herbal product during pregnancy, research launched at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester has revealed.

7 Sep 2008

Sexual activities other than intercourse carry risk of HIV, other STIs, study finds

Sexual activities other than intercourse carry some risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, according to a report from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists published recently in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reuters reports.

4 Sep 2008

Single embryo advice to IVF clinics will reduce the number of multiple births

Experts in the UK are advising that wherever possible, only one embryo per IVF cycle should be transferred in order to cut the rate of multiple births.

3 Sep 2008

Mom's depression, baby's sleep linked?

If there's one thing that everyone knows about newborn babies, it's that they don't sleep through the night, and neither do their parents. But in fact, those first six months of life are crucial to developing the regular sleeping and waking patterns, known as circadian rhythms, that a child will need for a healthy future.

2 Sep 2008