Infant's Health News

November 20, 2024

Top Headlines

Preterm Birth Associated With Increased Mortality Risk Into Adulthood

Nov. 20, 2024 — Being born preterm is associated with an increased risk of death from birth until the third and fourth decades of ...

Exposure to Marijuana in the Womb May Increase Risk of Addiction to Opioids Later in Life, Study Finds

Nov. 14, 2024 — Evidence has been growing to suggest that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, poses risks to the developing fetus by impacting brain development. Now a new ...

Frequent Emergency Care During Pregnancy Could Signal Greater Risk for Severe Maternal Morbidity

Nov. 14, 2024 — A new study found that, among nearly 775,000 pregnant people in Massachusetts, 31 percent of these individuals had at least one unscheduled emergency visit to the hospital, and 3.3 percent had four ...

Using Personal Care Products During and After Pregnancy Can Increase Exposure to Toxic Chemicals

Nov. 12, 2024 — For people who are pregnant or nursing, more use of personal care products is associated with higher detectable levels of synthetic chemicals known to have adverse health effects, a new study found. ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:51pm EST

AI Can Detect Serious Neurologic Changes in Babies in the NICU Using Video Data Alone

Nov. 11, 2024 — Study findings could serve as a foundation for broader neuro-monitoring applications across intensive care units ...

Study Reveals Best Timing for Getting the RSV Vaccine During Pregnancy to Protect Newborns

Nov. 11, 2024 — Current guidelines recommend that pregnant people receive a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) -- which typically causes mild, ...

Effects of Preterm Birth Extend Into Adulthood, Study Finds

Nov. 6, 2024 — By analyzing all live births in Canada over a six-year period and following children for more than two decades, researchers found that preterm births and the related cognitive, development and ...

High Cost of Childbirth and Postpartum Care Causes Biggest Financial Hardship for Lower-Income Families With Commercial Insurance

Nov. 6, 2024 — The cost of childbirth and postpartum health care results in significant, ongoing financial hardship, particularly for lower-income families with ...

A Common Steroid Therapy May Influence Brain Development in Preterm Infants

Oct. 31, 2024 — Antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) are an established therapy for pregnant women at risk of preterm birth. Researchers have found that babies given ACS had notably smaller volumes of two key brain ...

Shaping Future Health: How Infant Gut Microbiota Development Matters

Oct. 31, 2024 — A new study has unveiled fascinating insights into the development of the infant gut microbiota and its profound implications for long-term health. This extensive study, involving nearly 1,000 ...

Restricting Sugar Consumption in Utero and in Early Childhood Significantly Reduces Risk of Midlife Chronic Disease, Study Finds

Oct. 31, 2024 — Children who experienced sugar restrictions during their first 1,000 days after conception had up to 35% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and ...

Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Can Impact Thinking and Learning Skills, Increase Aggression Among Children, Study Shows

Oct. 28, 2024 — As cannabis is legalized and is more accessible in various forms across the country, there is increasing concern among health care providers about ...

Could a New Medical Approach Fix Faulty Genes Before Birth?

Oct. 24, 2024 — A new biomedical tool successfully delivers genetic material to edit faulty genes in developing fetal mouse brain cells. This might stop disease progression of genetic-based neurodevelopmental ...

In Pioneering Study, Gene Technology Outperforms Standard Newborn Screening Tests

Oct. 24, 2024 — Early results from 4,000 babies show that genome sequencing picks up many more serious health conditions than standard newborn screening and is ...

Lying, Sitting or All-Fours Position?

Nov. 4, 2024 — Whether lying on their back, all-fours position, sitting upright or squatting -- women adopt different birthing positions during childbirth. What has not yet been researched is how the respective ...

Scientists Develop Tool to Predict Sepsis in Apparently Healthy Newborns

Oct. 28, 2024 — A genetic signature in newborns can predict neonatal sepsis before symptoms even start to show, according to a new study. The study, led by University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University ...

Birth: It's a Tight Squeeze for Chimpanzees, Too

Oct. 23, 2024 — According to a new study, chimpanzees, like humans, must contend with a confined bony birth canal when giving birth. In humans, the problem was exacerbated by our unique form of upright walking since ...

U.S. Infant Mortality Increased 7 Percent in Months Following Dobbs, Researchers Find

Oct. 21, 2024 — U.S. babies died at a higher rate in the months following the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health decision, and infant mortality was highest among those born with ...

Defective Sperm Doubles the Risk of Preeclampsia

Oct. 11, 2024 — Researchers have linked specific frequent defects in sperm to risk of pregnancy complications and negative impacts on the health of the baby. The study shows that high proportion of father's ...

Coffee During Pregnancy Safe for Baby's Brain Development, Study Suggests

Oct. 10, 2024 — A new study has failed to find any strong links between drinking coffee during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental difficulties in ...

Researchers Examine the Persistence of Invisible Plastic Pollution

Oct. 9, 2024 — Plastic pollution -- tiny bits of plastic, smaller than a grain of sand -- is everywhere, a fact of life that applies even to newborn ...

Genetic Analysis of 25,000 Chinese Mothers and Infants Reveals Unique Genes Associated With Disease Risk

Oct. 9, 2024 — Genome-wide association studies have great potential for advancing our understanding of the genetic background of diseases, but so far, few association studies have focused on maternal and newborn ...

Heat Stress May Still Affect Babies Once Born, First Evidence Suggests

Oct. 8, 2024 — Exposure to high levels of heat may both impact the growth of fetuses during pregnancy and infants up to the age of ...

Macaques Give Birth More Easily Than Women: No Maternal Mortality at Birth

Oct. 7, 2024 — An international research team has used long-term demographic data from Japanese macaques -- a monkey species within the family of Old World monkeys -- to show that, unlike humans, there is no ...

Fear of Childbirth Is Associated With Shorter Duration of Breastfeeding

Oct. 7, 2024 — The duration of breastfeeding is shorter than average among mothers with a fear of childbirth -- regardless of the mode of delivery, a new study from Finland ...

Body Weight Is an Important Health Factor in Pregnancy -- Regardless of Country of Birth

Oct. 3, 2024 — Overweight is a major contributor to complications during pregnancy and childbirth -- this applies to both women born in Sweden and women who have moved here, something that has not been well ...

Antibodies in Breast Milk Provide Protection Against Common GI Virus

Oct. 1, 2024 — A study found that breast milk provides protection against rotavirus, a common gastrointestinal disease that causes diarrhea, vomiting and fever in infants. Babies whose mothers had high levels of ...

Babies Born After Fertility Treatment Have Higher Risk of Heart Defects, Study Suggests

Sep. 27, 2024 — The risk of being born with a major heart defect is 36% higher in babies who were conceived after assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to results of a ...

Rates of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Changed During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sep. 26, 2024 — Rates of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the immediate pre-pandemic period, according to a new study. ...

Why Children With Down Syndrome Have Higher Risk of Leukemia

Sep. 26, 2024 — People with Down syndrome face a higher risk of developing leukemia. Now researchers explain why, by identifying specific changes in blood cells of people with Down ...

Pandemic-Era Babies Do Not Have Higher Autism Risk, Finds Study

Sep. 23, 2024 — Children born during the pandemic, including those exposed to COVID in utero, were no more likely to screen positive for autism than unexposed or pre-pandemic ...

Breastfeeding Is Crucial to Shaping Infant's Microbes and Promoting Lung Health

Sep. 19, 2024 — Human breast milk regulates a baby's mix of microbes, or microbiome, during the infant's first year of life. This in turn lowers the child's risk of developing asthma, a new study ...

Iron Given Through the Vein Corrects Iron Deficiency Anaemia in Pregnant Women Faster and Better Than Iron Taken by Mouth

Sep. 18, 2024 — Researchers found that a medicine called ferric carboxymaltose given in drip through the vein works faster and better than an iron tablet taken by mouth for the treatment of anaemia -- and it is as ...

Discarding the Placenta After Birth Leads to Loss of Valuable Information, Pathologists Say

Sep. 18, 2024 — Physician-scientists argue that with most placentas discarded after birth, placental pathology is underutilized clinically, should be a routine part of obstetric and neonatal care, and also deserves ...