Pregnancy and Childbirth News

May 28, 2024

Top Headlines

Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution Associated With Increased Mental Health Risks

May 28, 2024 — A baby's exposure to air pollution while in the womb is associated with the development of certain mental health problems once the infant reaches adolescence, new research has found. The study ...

Most Young Women Treated for Breast Cancer Can Have Children

May 23, 2024 — New research has encouraging news for young women who have survived breast cancer and want to have children. The study, which tracked nearly 200 young women treated for breast cancer, found that the majority of those who tried to conceive during a ...

Exposure to Mixtures of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals During Pregnancy Linked to Higher Odds of Metabolic Syndrome in Children

May 23, 2024 — A new study suggests that prenatal exposure to a combination of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is associated with a poorer metabolic health in childhood, which in turn may contribute to an ...

Dispelling Severe 'Morning Sickness' Myths: It's Not Normal or Harmless, but Prevention and Treatment Might Be on the Way

May 22, 2024 — Late last year, geneticists made the discovery that morning sickness's most serious presentation, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), is caused by the hormone GDF15, not human chorionic gonadotropin as ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:47pm EDT

A Promising Approach to Develop a Birth Control Pill for Men

May 23, 2024 — Researchers show in animal models that a novel, non-hormonal sperm-specific approach offers a promising option for reversible human male ...

PFAS Exposure in Men Linked to the Health of Their Offspring

May 21, 2024 — Researchers are reporting new findings that demonstrate a link between exposure to per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in males and health issues in their ...

Researchers Find Microplastics in Canine and Human Testicular Tissue

May 15, 2024 — Researchers have detected significant concentrations of microplastics in the testicular tissue of both humans and dogs, adding to growing concern about their possible effect on human reproductive ...

Birth by C-Section More Than Doubles Odds of Measles Vaccine Failure

May 13, 2024 — Birth by C-section more than doubles odds of measles vaccine failure. Researchers say it is vital that children born by caesarean section receive two doses of the measles vaccine for robust ...

Personalized Screening Early in Pregnancy May Improve Preeclampsia Detection

May 6, 2024 — Study suggests more extensive screening method in the first trimester of pregnancy may improve detection of ...

A New Mother's Immune Status Varies With Her Feeding Strategy

May 7, 2024 — In one of the first studies of its kind, UC Santa Barbara researchers have found that the immune status of postpartum mothers shifts with how she feeds her baby. Certain inflammatory proteins -- ...

Source of Pregnancy Complications from Infections Revealed by Placenta Map

May 3, 2024 — The placenta's response to infections from malaria, toxoplasmosis and listeria has been mapped in high resolution, possibly paving the way for new treatment ...

Cell Contractions Drive the Initial Shaping of Human Embryos

May 1, 2024 — Human embryo compaction, an essential step in the first days of an embryo's development, is driven by the contractility of its cells. These results contradict the presupposed driving role of cell ...

Father's Gut Microbes Affect the Next Generation

May 1, 2024 — Researchers changed the composition of the gut microbiota in male mice through common antibiotics, inducing a condition called dysbiosis, and found that: - Mouse pups sired by a dysbiotic father show ...

Discovery of an Atypical Heat Shock Factor, HSF5, Involved in Meiotic Mechanisms: Implications for Male Infertility

May 1, 2024 — Researchers have identified a novel Heat Shock Factor (HSF), designated as HSF5, which plays a crucial role in the completion of meiosis and the ...

Pregnancy Cytokine Levels Impact Fetal Brain Development and Offspring Behavior

Apr. 26, 2024 — Researchers have discovered in a preclinical model that cytokines, proteins that control immune response, circulating in maternal blood during pregnancy may mitigate an offspring's risk for ...

Dengue Fever Infections Have Negative Impacts on Infant Health for Three Years

Apr. 23, 2024 — Dengue infections in pregnant women may have a negative impact on the first years of children's lives, new research has ...

Pressure in the Womb May Influence Facial Development

Apr. 22, 2024 — Physical cues in the womb, and not just genetics, influence the normal development of neural crest cells, the embryonic stem cells that form facial features, finds a new ...

Researchers Find That Accelerated Aging Biology in the Placenta Contributes to a Rare Form of Pregnancy-Related Heart Failure

Apr. 17, 2024 — In a new study, researchers show that elevated levels of proteins related to cellular senescence, or aging, in the blood and the placenta are linked to this form of heart ...

New Study Focuses on the Placenta for Clues to the Development of Gestational Diabetes

Apr. 16, 2024 — A new study has identified that a deficit in the placental expression of the gene insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGFBP1) and low IGFBP1 circulating levels are associated with insulin resistance during ...

Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Increase Risk of Cardiovascular Death After Giving Birth

Apr. 11, 2024 — Health researchers identify patients at risk for preventable death in the year after ...

Global Research Team Finds No Clear Link Between Maternal Diabetes During Pregnancy and ADHD in Children

Apr. 10, 2024 — An international research team has just provided valuable evidence through a 20-year longitudinal study to address the longstanding debate concerning the potential impact of maternal diabetes on ...

No Link Between Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children's Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability, Says Large Sibling Study

Apr. 9, 2024 — In the largest study to date on the subject, researchers found no evidence to support a causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and increased risk of autism, ADHD and intellectual ...

Pregnancy Accelerates Biological Aging in a Healthy, Young Adult Population

Apr. 8, 2024 — Pregnancy may carry a cost, reports a new study. The research shows that women who reported having been pregnant looked biologically older than women who had never been pregnant, and women who had ...

Even Moderate Alcohol Usage During Pregnancy Linked to Birth Abnormalities

Apr. 2, 2024 — Researchers have found that even low to moderate alcohol use by pregnant patients may contribute to subtle changes in their babies' prenatal development, including lower birth length and a ...

Women With Obesity Do Not Need to Gain Weight During Pregnancy, New Study Suggests

Apr. 2, 2024 — The guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy in obese women have long been questioned. New research supports the idea of lowering or removing the current recommendation of a weight gain of at ...

Positive Associations Between Premenstrual Disorders and Perinatal Depression

Mar. 28, 2024 — Women affected by premenstrual disorders have a higher risk of perinatal depression compared with those who do not, according to new research. The relationship works both ways: those with perinatal ...

Miscarriages Linked to Health Risks in Later Pregnancies

Mar. 28, 2024 — Researchers analyzed 52 studies involving more than 4 million pregnancies across 22 countries to investigate the health impacts of miscarriage, abortion and recurrent pregnancy loss (more than two ...

Stem Cell Model Offers First Glimpse of Early Human Embryonic Development

Mar. 23, 2024 — The new platform's ethically grounded approach promises to reveal much about how human embryos form during the earliest stages of ...

Metformin During Pregnancy Affects the Brain Development in Offspring Mice, Study Finds

Mar. 20, 2024 — With the rise in gestational diabetes and metabolic disorders during pregnancy, metformin is also being prescribed more frequently. Although it is known that the oral antidiabetic agent can cross the ...

Laws That Punish Drug Use During Pregnancy Likely Lead to Worse Health Outcomes for Families, Study Finds

Mar. 18, 2024 — Contrary to some claims, laws that criminalize or otherwise punish drug use during pregnancy are more likely to worsen rather than improve health outcomes. The study is the first to systematically ...

Study Eases Concern at Antipsychotics Use in Pregnancy

Mar. 18, 2024 — The use of antipsychotics during pregnancy isn't linked to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders or learning difficulties, study suggests -- giving assurance to those concerned about continuing ...

Why Some Newborns Develop Severe Infections

Mar. 15, 2024 — A serious immune deficiency in newborns may originate from a system that protects the fetus in utero but lingers too long after ...

New Discovery Reveals How the Egg Controls Sperm Entry

Mar. 14, 2024 — After the egg has been fertilized by a sperm, the surrounding egg coat tightens, mechanically preventing the entry of additional sperm and the ensuing death of the embryo, a new study finds. The work ...

Good News: The US Maternal Death Rate Is Stable, Not Sky Rocketing, as Reported

Mar. 13, 2024 — A new study challenges the prevailing view on the maternal death rate in the United States. The findings show that the rates of maternal death were stable between 1999-2002 and 2018-2021, instead of ...