Pregnancy and Childbirth News

November 20, 2024

Top Headlines

High Exposure to Everyday Chemicals During Pregnancy Linked to Asthma Risk in Children

Nov. 19, 2024 — A new study sheds light on a potential link between exposure to certain everyday chemicals during pregnancy and the development of asthma in children. The study analyzed data from over 3,500 ...

Pregnant People Might Not Be Getting the Nutrients They Need

Nov. 19, 2024 — New research reveals startling shortfalls in dietary nutrition during ...

Promising Daily Tablet Increases Growth in Children With Dwarfism

Nov. 18, 2024 — A promising daily tablet is effective at increasing height and improving proportional limb growth in children with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, according to a new study. And the findings could spare these children from needing ...

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 ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:52pm EST

Children Exposed to Antiseizure Meds During Pregnancy Face Neurodevelopmental Risks, Study Finds

Nov. 15, 2024 — Children born to mothers who take antiseizure medications to manage seizures and psychiatric conditions during pregnancy may face increased risks of ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

Very Early Medication Abortion Is Effective and Safe, Study Finds

Nov. 6, 2024 — Clinics and hospitals currently defer medication abortion until ultrasound confirms a pregnancy inside the uterus. However, a large international study now indicates that treatment can be equally ...

Vitamin D During Pregnancy Boosts Children's Bone Health Even at Age Seven

Nov. 6, 2024 — Children whose mothers took extra vitamin D during pregnancy continue to have stronger bones at age seven, according to ...

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 ...

Sleeping for 2: Insomnia Therapy Reduces Postpartum Depression, Study Shows

Oct. 31, 2024 — CBT for insomnia significantly reduces postpartum depression symptoms, directly and indirectly, by improving mood and alleviating insomnia throughout ...

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 ...

Experiences of Discrimination Linked to Postpartum Weight Retention

Nov. 11, 2024 — Researchers have been unable to explain why after giving birth, Black patients are two to three times as likely to retain or gain additional weight compared to their white counterparts, even when ...

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 ...

Nearly 6 Percent of Pregnant Women Report Marijuana Use, U.S. Study Finds

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study, using responses from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, has found that about 6 percent of pregnant women reported using marijuana during the last month, and many did not ...

Invisible Anatomy in the Fruit Fly Uterus

Oct. 25, 2024 — Drosophila is one of the most thoroughly studied lab animals -- with the exception of the female reproductive tract. Now a team of biologists has taken the first deep look at the Drosophila uterus ...

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 ...

A Fully Automated AI-Based System for Assessing IVF Embryo Quality

Oct. 22, 2024 — A new artificial intelligence-based system can accurately assess the chromosomal status of in vitro-fertilized (IVF) embryos using only time-lapse video images of the embryos and maternal age, ...

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 ...

Study Finds Widespread Exposure to Hormone-Disrupting Chemical During Pregnancy

Oct. 17, 2024 — Researchers link zearalenone levels to diet quality and call for further ...

Folic Acid May Mitigate Link Between Lead Exposure During Pregnancy and Autistic Behaviours in Children

Oct. 16, 2024 — A new study has found that folate may weaken the link between blood-lead levels in pregnant women and autistic-like behaviors in their ...

New Study on microRNAs Could Lead to Better Fertility Treatment

Oct. 16, 2024 — Researchers have mapped how small RNA molecules, such as the recently Nobel Prize-awarded microRNAs, control cell development in the human embryo during the first days after fertilization. The ...

Six Proteins Implicated in Early-Onset Preeclampsia

Oct. 14, 2024 — Preeclampsia is a life-threatening pregnancy complication marked by persistent high blood pressure that is even more serious when it occurs early in the first trimester. The exact cause of ...

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 ...

Spike in Emergency Visits for Life Threatening Pregnancy Complication, Study Suggests

Oct. 10, 2024 — Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, the second leading cause of maternal deaths worldwide, may be sending a significantly higher number of pregnant people to the emergency ...

Variability in When and How Cells Divide Promotes Healthy Development in Embryos

Oct. 10, 2024 — There is variability in when and how cells divide during the development of embryos. While researchers traditionally believed this variability was an obstacle that needed to be regulated, a group now ...

Maternal Exercise During Pregnancy May Protect the Child Against Asthma

Oct. 10, 2024 — The risk of asthma in the child can be reduced by nearly half if the mother engages in active physical exercise at least three times a week during pregnancy, compared to a child of a mother who is ...

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 ...

You Get Your Energy from Your Mom: A New Study Explains Why

Oct. 9, 2024 — Scientists have long wondered why animals get the DNA inside their mitochondria, the cell's energy center, only from their mothers. New research explains why and offers hope for treating ...

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 ...