Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

Causes of type 1 diabetes

Scientists are casting a wide, tightly woven net with the goal of catching the causes of type 1 diabetes.

16 Feb 2006

Acne drug which causes birth defects too hard to monitor

According to the birth watchdog group the March of Dimes, preventing birth defects from a widely used acne drug is too heavy a burden on doctors, patients and pharmacists.

13 Feb 2006

Stopping antidepressants during pregnancy may lead to relapse

Women who stop taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy are at a five times greater risk for recurrence of depression than are women who continue taking their medication throughout their pregnancies, according to a multi-institutional study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

13 Feb 2006

Herbs popular in treating kids at WIC clinics

Nearly half of the low income, nutritionally-vulnerable Latino children surveyed by Penn State researchers in WIC clinics were treated with herbs by their caregivers for common ills such as diaper rash, colic, teething symptoms, stomachaches, coughs and colds.

12 Feb 2006

Changes in the tissue environment of the breast that occur after pregnancy promote the metastasis of breast tumor cells

Changes in the tissue environment of the breast that occur after pregnancy promote the metastasis of breast tumor cells. The paper by McDaniel et al., "Remodeling of the mammary microenvironment following lactation promotes breast tumor cell metastasis.

12 Feb 2006

Use of antidepressants during pregnancy linked to neonatal abstinence syndrome in infants

Almost one-third of 60 newborn infants whose mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy experienced neonatal abstinence syndrome, a type of withdrawal with symptoms that include high-pitched crying, tremors and disturbed sleep, according to a study in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

9 Feb 2006

Many women who are eligible for rubella vaccination are not being immunized after giving birth

Contrary to federal recommendations, many women who are eligible for rubella vaccination are not being immunized after giving birth, a new study of Miami-area hospitals has found.

7 Feb 2006

Chronic periodontal infection increases risk of preeclampsia in pregnant women

Results of a new study support the hypothesis that chronic periodontal infection increases the risk of developing preeclampsia in pregnant women.

7 Feb 2006

Link between high levels of a protein HtrA1 and preeclampsia

Mayo Clinic researchers have found an association between abnormally high levels of a protein named HtrA1 and preeclampsia, a sudden and dangerous rise in blood pressure that can result in premature delivery, disability or death for mother and fetus.

5 Feb 2006

Babies of obese mothers have higher risk of some birth defects

Compared to normal-weight women, overweight and obese women suffer more pregnancy complications and their babies have more medical problems at birth, according to a position paper of the Public Affairs Committee of the Teratology Society.

5 Feb 2006

Simple method to diagnose preeclampsia

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that analyzing proteins in urine is a simple and objective method to diagnose and classify preeclampsia (PE), a complication of pregnancy causing high blood pressure after 20 weeks of gestation.

5 Feb 2006

Women pregnant with girls experience more severe asthma symptoms

Women with asthma who are carrying a female fetus are more likely to experience worse asthma symptoms than asthmatic women carrying a male fetus, researchers at Yale School of Medicine report in the February issue of American Journal of Epidemiology.

2 Feb 2006

Pregnancy does not provide protection against depression

Pregnancy has historically been described as a time of emotional well-being, providing "protection" against psychiatric disorder, but a new study says the hormonal changes which occur during pregnancy do not protect women from depression, and those taking antidepressants may need to continue despite concerns about fetal damage.

2 Feb 2006

Preimplantation cell number may affect birthweight

Dr Lieberman et al. at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA have measured the quality of human embryos by counting and assessing the properties of their individual cells.

2 Feb 2006

Baby Grace goes home after having heart surgery as a fetus

A baby girl, who had the world's first heart "stent" procedure in the womb was discharged from hospital on Friday and went home 17 days after her birth.

31 Jan 2006

8 million children born every year with serious birth defects

According to a new report, every year an estimated 8 million children are born with a serious birth defect of genetic or partially genetic origin.

31 Jan 2006

BRCA1 gene inhibits estrogen and progesterone

It's been known that the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 regulates use of estrogen in breast and other cells, but now researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have discovered that it also controls activity of a second sex steroid hormone, progesterone.

27 Jan 2006

Oocyte cryopreservation - allows women to freeze their eggs

Researchers at the Yale Fertility Center are now offering a cutting edge reproductive procedure called oocyte cryopreservation that allows women to freeze their eggs and use them at a later time to conceive a child.

27 Jan 2006

Weight loss and exercise reduces urinary incontinence in women with prediabetes

Losing a modest amount of weight through dietary changes and increased physical activity reduces the occurrence of urinary incontinence (UI) in women with prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet diabetic.

27 Jan 2006

Uterine artery embolization shortens hospital stay but increases minor complications

Compared to traditional surgery for uterine fibroids, a new minimally invasive procedure leads to shorter hospitalization and a quicker return to everyday activities, researchers report.

25 Jan 2006