Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Three-dimensional breast cell cultures reveal clues to breast cancer hidden inside stem cells

Stem cells and how to boost them is hot on the research agenda. But stopping them could be critical too, as evidence implicating stem cells in cancer is mounting.

3 May 2006

Significant number of women believe their children are normal weight when they are actually overweight

Latina mothers of preschool-aged children frequently have inaccurate perceptions of their children's body mass index and believe they are healthy when they are overweight, according to a new study from the University of California, San Francisco.

2 May 2006

Preconception health care should be part of routine medical visits

Every visit to the doctor for women of childbearing age should be considered an opportunity to discuss reproductive health- especially since more than half of all pregnancies are unintended, according to a report published today in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Recommendations and Reports.

26 Apr 2006

Preconception health care should be part of routine medical visits

26 Apr 2006

Prenatal exposure to alcohol can change child's circadian rhythms

Altered sleeping and eating patterns, behavioral problems, attention deficits and depression in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders may indicate that their biological rhythms, which are controlled by circadian systems, have been affected by alcohol exposure during development.

25 Apr 2006

Doctors show concern over rising preterm births

Doctors in the BMJ have expressed concern over the apparent increase in preterm births. The concerns are based on research showing that preterm deliveries increased by 22% from 1995 to 2004. Even among low risk women aged 20-40, there was a 51% increase in early delivery.

25 Apr 2006

Foot problems change social behaviour - but it doesn't have to be that way

With the average person taking 9,000 steps per day -- more than 600 miles each year -- when feet start to hurt or change in shape, it can really impact a person's life. In fact, according to a new survey, of people who report having foot issues in the past five years, two out of three report that these foot issues, which range from blisters to bunions and heel pain, have changed the kind of shoes they wear, how active they are, where and how far they walk, and so on.

23 Apr 2006

Popular antidepressants may affect fetus

A team from the Ottawa Health Research Institute, the University of Ottawa, and The Ottawa Hospital has found an increased risk of premature delivery, low birth weight, fetal death, and infant seizures among pregnant women who used a popular class of antidepressants during pregnancy.

20 Apr 2006

Iodine could have helped to spare many Chernobyl children from thyroid cancer

As the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl approaches, UNICEF says that the numbers of children who developed thyroid cancer could have been significantly lower if they had been consuming iodized salt in their daily diet at the time of the accident.

20 Apr 2006

Long or short intervals between pregnancies associated with poor perinatal outcomes

Intervals between pregnancies shorter than 18 months and longer than 59 months are associated with increased risk of low birth weight, preterm birth and small size for gestational age

19 Apr 2006

Oral misoprostol for induction of labour

A popular anti-ulcer pill used around the world for inducing labor and preventing post-delivery bleeding appears to be as effective as more expensive drugs but still must be used with caution, according to an updated systematic review of studies.

18 Apr 2006

Nurses encouraged to practice family-centered maternity care

The March issue of Journal of Obstetric Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing is challenging nurses who care for pregnant and laboring women to reconsider family centered maternity care.

18 Apr 2006

Diabetes: Translating the chronic care model into the community

Educating people with diabetes in a primary-care setting with sustained, comprehensive intervention resulted in significant improvement in disease management and overall health, according to a study published in the current issue of Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

16 Apr 2006

Imaging of breast cancer diagnosed and treated with chemotherapy during pregnancy

Ultrasound provides a safe and accurate method of detecting breast cancers in pregnant women, as well as assessing response to chemotherapy, according to a study appearing in the April issue of Radiology.

13 Apr 2006

Active ingredient in soy may explain why Asians have lower rates of obesity and cancer

A single nutrient found in soy products elicits changes in gene behavior that permanently reduce an embryo's risk of becoming obese later in life, according to an animal study at Duke University Medical Center.

13 Apr 2006

FDA investigates abortion pill death

It seems that since the FDA approved the use of the abortion pill RU-486, (Mifeprex/ mifepristone) in September 2000, six women in the U.S. have died.

12 Apr 2006

New insights into how anti-rejection drug daclizumab (Zenapax) helps MS patients

A research team led by the University of Cincinnati's Bibiana Bielekova, MD, report new insights into the role of the MS drug daclizumab (Zenapax) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

11 Apr 2006

Teens turn to pot after parental bust-ups

Splitting parents who shack up with new partners can unwittingly push their children towards cannabis use.

11 Apr 2006

Forget the diet, just zap that fat!

Scientists in the U.S. are in the process of developing a laser which melts fat and they believe that in future it could be used to treat heart disease, cellulite, and acne.

11 Apr 2006

St. John's wort and Echinacea increase activity of enzyme in the liver and intestine

St. John's wort and Echinacea, two widely-used herbal preparations, have been found to increase activity of a specific enzyme in the liver and intestine, an enzyme involved in the metabolization of roughly one in every four pharmaceutical drugs on the market today, reports a clinical pharmacologist at Indiana University School of Medicine.

11 Apr 2006