Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

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

Stress in pregnancy means boys will be stronger

A team from the University of California, Berkeley, have found in a study that pregnant women are more likely to miscarry male fetuses than females fetuses during times of stress.

25 Jan 2006

Perineal massage helps childbirth

Low-tech, at-home preparation in the last month before childbirth could help pregnant mothers avoid one of the more common surgeries performed on women in the United States, a new review suggests.

25 Jan 2006

Inducing labor shows some benefits in cases of premature water break

A new review of recent studies suggests there are some benefits to inducing labor in women whose water breaks at the point of full-term pregnancy but before the start of labor.

25 Jan 2006

Babies brainier when Mum eats fish

The benefits of giving fish oil supplements to children to improve their brainpower is being investigated by scientists at the University of Bristol.

23 Jan 2006

Histidine may be key to new therapies for cardiovascular disease

It's just one little amino acid, but it makes all the difference in protecting the heart from the harmful effects of heart attack and cardiac failure. Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School suggest this amino acid, called histidine, could be the key to a new therapy for cardiovascular disease

23 Jan 2006

Missing protein C/EBPb may be cause of infertility

The absence of a key protein may lead to infertility. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that experiments involving mice -- to be detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences -- indicate that the transcription factor protein C/EBPb must be present in the uterus for pregnancy to occur.

18 Jan 2006

Another reason for not smoking during pregnancy

According to a new study by doctors at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, although the overall risk of such abnormalities in fingers and toes is relatively low, just half a pack of cigarettes per day increases the risk to the baby by 29 percent, compared to non-smokers.

11 Jan 2006

Risk of puerperal psychosis highest after birth of first baby

The risk of bipolar affective puerperal psychosis - a severe mental illness following childbirth - is highest after the birth of a first baby, a new study has confirmed.

10 Jan 2006

Maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy influences the bone growth of children

Vitamin D supplementation of pregnant women could lead to longlasting reduction in osteoporotic fractures in their children, according to a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

6 Jan 2006

Smoking during pregnancy increases risk of having a child with missing fingers and toes

In the largest study of its kind, plastic surgeons found smoking during pregnancy significantly elevates the risk of having a child with excess, webbed or missing fingers and toes, according to the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

6 Jan 2006

Abstinence and Abstinence-Only Education: A Review of U.S. Policies and Programs

While few Americans remain abstinent until marriage and most initiate sexual intercourse as adolescents, abstinence from sexual intercourse is an important behavioral strategy for preventing human immunodeficiency virus, other sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy among adolescents

5 Jan 2006

Eating disorders linked to perinatal complications

Certain complications during and immediately after birth are associated with the development of the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, according to a study in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Jan 2006

Lupus patients safe to go back on the pill

Two new studies confirm that women who suffer from lupus, a chronic disease that can lead to inflamed kidneys, can safely take oral contraceptives without fear that the pill will worsen their condition.

19 Dec 2005

Increase in pregnancy obesity

A growing number of women are overweight or obese when they become pregnant, a condition that is risky to both mother and baby, a new study conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo has shown.

15 Dec 2005