Pregnancy News and Research

Latest Pregnancy News and Research

No increased risk of breast cancer from miscarriage or abortion

An international collaboration led by Oxford University concluded in last week's issue of The Lancet that there is no increased risk of breast cancer for women who have had a pregnancy ending in miscarriage or abortion.

30 Mar 2004

FDA Approves Pre-Filled Pre-Mixed Fertility Medication

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced approval of Follistim®-AQ TM cartridge (follitropin beta injection) in the United States. Follistim-AQ cartridge is the first follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) treatment available in a pre-filled, pre-mixed solution, eliminating the need for patients to mix one or more vials of medication.

24 Mar 2004

Ban Chlorpyrifos and Diazinonon Impacts Child Birth Weights

A federal ban on two insecticides has resulted in a significant reduction in their impact on newborns' birth weight and length, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other private foundations.

23 Mar 2004

20% of worldwide population lack enough zinc in diet

Up to one-fifth of the world's people lack sufficient zinc in their diet, while an estimated one-third live in countries considered at high risk of zinc deficiency, warns a comprehensive new report by an international group of medical researchers.

23 Mar 2004

Research suggests protein released from lungs could initiate labour

A protein released from the lungs of a developing mouse fetus initiates a cascade of chemical events leading to the mother's initiation of labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found.

22 Mar 2004

Breast feeding increases choline which means more brain cells

Five years ago, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers first reported finding that the nutrient choline played a critical role in memory and brain function by positively affecting the brain’s physical development. Differences in development influenced action, the scientists and their colleagues found. In animal experiments conducted at Duke University, both young and old rats performed significantly better on memory tasks if they received enough choline before birth compared with same-age rats whose mothers were fed choline-deficient diets. The latter showed deficits in the hippocampus and septums of their brains.

22 Mar 2004

Research suggest tea total only way to go when pregnant

The cardinal rule of a safe pregnancy is to avoid heavy drinking. However, new research indicates that even light to moderate drinking should be avoided as it may interfere with learning and memory in children as late as adolescence.

22 Mar 2004