Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Feeding infants diverse foods early may cut allergy risk, study reveals

Early dietary diversity in infants may reduce the risk of food allergies by promoting immune tolerance and gut microbiome diversity, while pregnancy diet has limited impact on allergy prevention.

4 Mar 2025

Oropouche virus goes global: Study exposes new risks from viral reassortment

Scientists trace the rapid spread of Oropouche virus beyond the Amazon, revealing its evolution through reassortment and the critical role of human mobility in its transmission.

4 Mar 2025

Breastfeeding for six months may spur beneficial gut bacteria linked to lower childhood blood pressure

Nursing for at least six months may spur beneficial gut bacteria connected to better heart health years later.

4 Mar 2025

Surprising study reveals dads’ weight and diet don’t impact baby’s size

A study shows paternal health factors like BMI and diet do not influence birth weight or length, emphasizing maternal diet's critical role in pregnancy.

4 Mar 2025

Tocolytic drugs ineffective for premature birth after 30 weeks

The use of tocolytic drugs in cases of threatened premature birth after 30 weeks of pregnancy does not improve the baby's health.

3 Mar 2025

Does a vegetarian diet help or harm your brain? Here’s what the science reveals

A recent study in Nutrients examines the effects of vegetarian and vegan diets on neurological health, highlighting both benefits and potential nutrient deficiencies that impact cognitive function.

3 Mar 2025

Maternal stress may disrupt infant gut health, study highlights long-term risks

Perinatal maternal stress may alter gut microbiota in mothers and infants, potentially increasing inflammatory bacteria linked to health risks. A scoping review highlights the need for better stress measurement and microbiome research.

3 Mar 2025

One-hour glucose tolerance test could revolutionize postpartum diabetes screening

Caring for a baby is a full-time job, often causing new mothers to overlook their own health needs. This situation is exemplified by the low compliance with postpartum glucose screening among women who had gestational diabetes-a condition that significantly increases their risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

3 Mar 2025

New three-organ system offers an animal-free alternative for pharmacokinetics research

Innovative organ-on-chip specialist Dynamic42 and ESQlabs, experts in digital life sciences solutions, have successfully developed a three-organ system, in close collaboration with Consumer Health Division of Bayer, and the Placenta Lab at Jena University Hospital.

2 Mar 2025

Maternity care costs significantly higher for racial and ethnic groups

A new study out today in JAMA Health Forum is the first to show that Black, Hispanic and Asian people with private insurance tend to pay more out-of-pocket for maternity care than white people.

28 Feb 2025

Vaping while pregnant isn't harmless—study uncovers risks to newborn lung health

Researchers found that e-cigarette exposure during pregnancy can disrupt fetal lung development, increase oxidative stress, and heighten the risk of respiratory diseases in newborns.

27 Feb 2025

Virtual lactation support shows promise in increasing breastfeeding rates

Mothers who were given access to virtual breastfeeding support (or telelactation) through a free app tended to report more breastfeeding than peers who did not receive such help, with a more-pronounced effect observed among Black mothers, according to a new RAND study.

27 Feb 2025

Cooling treatment shows no benefits for preterm infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy

Lowering the body temperature of preterm infants (born at 33 to 35 weeks of pregnancy) with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)-a type of brain damage caused by oxygen loss-offers no benefits over standard care, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

25 Feb 2025

Pig kidney transplant patient completes recovery and returns home

Three months after her breakthrough surgery at NYU Langone Health, Towana Looney, the longest-living recipient of a genetically engineered pig kidney, is headed back home to Alabama.

25 Feb 2025

Early pregnancy nutrition impacts child's motor development at age 5-6

A healthy diet in early pregnancy supports the child's motor development at the age of 5-6 years. Higher maternal body fat mass, on the other hand, has an adverse effect on the child's motor development.

25 Feb 2025

Routine psychological screening can improve maternal cardiovascular health

Integrating routine psychological health screening and treatment during and after pregnancy may reduce the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and improve maternal cardiovascular health, according to a new scientific statement published today in a Go Red for Women spotlight issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

25 Feb 2025

Common medications disrupt brain development by affecting sterol biosynthesis

In a peer-reviewed Perspective (review) article, researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have uncovered concerning evidence that commonly prescribed medications may interfere with crucial brain development processes by disrupting sterol biosynthesis.

25 Feb 2025

Study shows how herpes viruses contribute to Alzheimer's disease in aging brains

Researchers from Cleveland Clinic's Genome Center outlined the pathway human herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV1) can use to contribute to Alzheimer's disease in aging brains.

24 Feb 2025

CMV infection found to worsen necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants

Researchers say they found that infection with a common virus that can be transmitted from mother to fetus before birth significantly worsens an often-fatal complication of premature birth called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in experiments with mice.

24 Feb 2025