Maternal obesity prior to pregnancy associated with birth defects
... Overweight and obese women are known to be at risk for chronic diseases, infertility, irregular menstruation and complications during pregnancy, according to background information in the article. In 2003 and 2004...Pregnancy, not high-risk behavior, predictor of STD testing among newly homeless youth
In the first study of its kind focusing on newly homeless youth, UCLA researchers have found that high-risk sexual behavior did not predict whether these youths were tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Instead, they were tested only when someone became pregnant or got someone pregnant....... , indicate that there is an urgent need for outreach programs targeting sexuall...Eating apples and fish during pregnancy may protect against childhood asthma and allergies
ATS 2007, SAN FRANCISCO -- Women who eat apples and fish during pregnancy may reduce the risk of their children developing asthma or allergic disease, suggests a new study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Sunday, May 20.... The SEATON study, conducted at the University of Aberdeen, UK, found that the children of mothers who ate the most apples were le...Aspirin use during pregnancy could reduce risk of pre-eclampsia
... ... Dr Lisa Askie, University of Sydney, Australia, with funding from the Aus...Nancy Brinker and Lance Armstrong honored with Centennial Medals at the AACR 2007 Annual Meeting
... Nancy Brinker, is the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, formerly the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She is being recognized for her significant and sustained effort in the fight against breast cancer. Now celebrating the organization's 25th year, Ambassado...Women need expanded musculoskeletal care during pregnancy, study finds
... According to Clayton Skaggs, DC, the studys chief author, 85 percent of women surveyed reported that they had not received treatment for their musculoskeletal pain, and o...Steroid use fails to boost pregnancy rates in infertility treatments
... ... This meta-analysis shows that empirical use of glucocorticoids is not supported by evidence from stud...Inflammatory bowel disease doubles risk of pregnancy complications
... ... ... In all, the dozen studies, drawn from an extensive search of published material, involved almost 4000 women with IBD and more than 320, 000 people without the condi...Exposures to the insecticide chlorpyrifos in pregnancy adversely affect child development
... The study assessed development of approximately 250 inner-city children from New York City who were born between 19...Gaining weight between pregnancies could lead to pregnancy complications
Boston, MA A number of studies over the years have found an association between obesity and pregnancy complications, including pre-eclampsia (hypertension), gestational diabetes and stillbirth, but there was little evidence of a direct, cause-and-effect relationship. A new, large-scale study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Karolinska Institutet in Stockhol...Pregnancy and lactation may affect maternal behavior and coping skills
... "It appears that hormonal changes occurring in rats after they nurse their pups may bring about endocrine and neuroendocrine chan...Weight worries affect women's motivation to stay smoke-free after pregnancy
... "Two-thirds of women who quit smoking when pregnant will resume smoking after giving birth," said Michele Levine, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "We want to understand how f...Drinking during pregnancy linked to offspring's risk of alcohol disorders in early adulthood
... Exposure to maternal drinking during early childhood has been associated with difficulties in thinking, learning and memory, as well as mental and behavioral problems. However, few studies have examined the link between drinking during pregnancy and a child's later risk for alcohol dependen...Low vitamin E intake during pregnancy can lead to childhood asthma
... ... ...Research shows no direct association between anxiety symptoms and adverse pregnancy outcomes
... "Pregnancy can be an emotional time for women and, for some, anxiety associated with the pregnancy can be compounded by pre-existing d...Young teens see pregnancy as a way to enhance relationships
Providence, RI Younger teen-agers who become pregnant tend to view pregnancy as a way to form or enhance connections with others, and are less likely to think they are unprepared to raise a child. By contrast, pregnant teens who are 18 or 19 years old acknowledge that they lack preparedness, but say there are advantages to having a baby earlier in life. These observations offer some insight into...Study details why listeriosis rates are 20-fold higher during pregnancy
BERKELEY For years, doctors have puzzled over why pregnant women are 20 times more likely than others to be infected by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, now think they have the answer, and it isn't pretty....... Their research, conducted in guinea pigs, shows that the bacteria can invade the placenta, where - protected from the body's i...New insights into the impact of pregnancy on inflammatory arthritis
During pregnancy, women with inflammatory arthritis usually experience disease improvement or even remission, while a disease flare regularly occurs within 3 to 4 months after delivery. A study featured in the July 2006 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism ( ) sheds light on this widely reported yet little understood phenomenon. ... ... Prenatal diagnostic tests have recently established that...HIV pregnancy study discovers increased anaemia and blood pressure problems
HIV positive women are much more likely to suffer from anaemia and high blood pressure in pregnancy and deliver babies with lower birth weights and retarded growth, according to research in the latest Journal of Clinical Nursing....... A team from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa compared 212 HIV positive mothers-to-be with 101 women who had tested negative....... "Latest statistic...Pregnancy complications still high for women with diabetes
Perinatal mortality and congenital anomalies in babies of women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in England, WalesThe risk of death and major birth defects are still high in babies born to women with diabetes, despite an international strategy to raise standards of diabetes care, say researchers in a study published on today....... They also warn that these problems will get worse as the number o...Pregnancy cravings can harm your oral health
Pregnant women may often make ice cream runs to calm their cravings as they wait for their baby's arrival. Other women suffering from an eating disorder called pica, will have cravings for ice, freezer frost, or even soil. ...... Pica combined with bulimia can have adverse effects on an individual's oral health during pregnancy and also can be hard to diagnose and treat during those nine months,...Study challenges myth that sex late in pregnancy hastens birth
COLUMBUS, Ohio A new study debunks the widely held belief that engaging in sexual intercourse during the final weeks of pregnancy can hasten labor and delivery....... In fact, just the opposite was true in 93 women studied at Ohio State University Medical Center. Women who were sexually active in the final three weeks of their pregnancies carried their babies an average of 39.9 weeks, compared t...Women who drink alcohol during pregnancy
... ... ... ...... Heavy drinking during pregnancy can harm the fetus, leading to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or other prenatal alc...Moderate stress during pregnancy does not harm child development
Many cultures hold that stress during pregnancy affects a woman's unborn child. However, there has been surprisingly little research on the topic. Now a study published in the May/June issue of the journal Child Development finds the folklore has scientific truth to it although not in the way you might expect. ... Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the National Institute...Low intake of milk during pregnancy linked to decreased birth weight
Montreal, Canada - A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal gives expectant mothers yet another reason to drink their milk. Researchers found that women who rarely drank milk during their pregnancy gave birth to smaller babies compared to women who drank more milk....... Low birth weight affects one out of every 13 babies born each year in the United States, and it's a f...Low intake of milk in pregnancy associated with decreased birth weight
Women increasingly self-restrict milk intake during pregnancy, for a variety of reasons. Does this have an effect on their infants' birth weight? ...... In this study, women whose daily consumption of milk during pregnancy was 1 cup (250 ml) or less consumed less protein and vitamin D and gave birth to smaller babies than mothers who drank more milk. Milk and vitamin D intakes during pregnancy we...Innovations in the care of women during pregnancy and labor
April 6, 2006 The March issue of Journal of Obstetric Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing is challenging nurses who care for pregnant and laboring women to reconsider family centered maternity care. ...... In four articles in the Clinical Issues section of the journal, guest editor Merry-K Moos, brings together experts who explore new innovations in caring for pregnant women and their families to...Differences in pregnancy risks and outcomes among immigrant groups to the US
Since the number of people of Hispanic and Asian origins has been increasing in the United States, it is important for healthcare workers to assess the risk factors associated with pregnancy outcomes in these ethnic groups. A study in the March issue of The Journal of Pediatrics evaluates the genetic, biologic, and social factors that may affect the fetal growth of babies born to U.S. and foreig...Mom's nutrition during pregnancy related to child's behavior at age three
Children born to teenage mothers who were iron deficient early in their pregnancies were less active at age 3 than the children of iron sufficient moms, a Penn State study has shown....... Dr. Laura Murray-Kolb, National Institutes of Mental Health postdoctoral fellow in psychology and human development and family studies at Penn State who led the study, says, "By being less active, the children...Pregnancy research leads to progress on premature delivery
The University of Rochester has filed a patent on several ideas to help prevent early labor and the premature delivery of low-birth-weight babies. The discovery is an incremental step in an area of obstetrics that has seen little improvement in 20 years....... Mark Plessinger, Ph.D., assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, discovered that ce...Pregnancy complications increase women's risk of heart disease, death
Young women who have a range of complications during pregnancy, including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes or preterm birth, are at an increased risk of developing heart disease and of dying later in life, according to new analyses by a team of Duke University Medical Center and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center cardiologists and obstetricians. Preeclampsia is a condition characterized by...Major WHO study concludes calcium supplements can reduce complications during pregnancy
Preeclampsia, the development of high blood pressure and protein in the urine during pregnancy and its more severe complications such as eclampsia, can threaten the lives of both mother and child. While there is no therapy to prevent preeclampsia, a link to calcium deficiency has been suggested. In a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, research...Excisional treatments for pre-cancerous cervical cells could lead to problems in pregnancy
Some of the techniques used to treat abnormal cervical cells could increase...a woman's risk of problems in pregnancy, concludes a meta-analysis in this...week's issue of The Lancet....... The introduction of cervical screening programmes and treatment of...pre-cancerous cells has produced a profound decrease in the incidence of...cervical cancer. Cold knife conisation, laser ablation, laser coni...Antidepressant use during pregnancy appears associated with withdrawal symptoms in newborns
Almost one-third of 60 newborn infants whose mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy experienced neonatal abstinence syndrome, a type of withdrawal with symptoms that include high-pitched crying, tremors and disturbed sleep, according to a study in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.... ...Between one-tenth and one-fourth of...Periodontitis is associated with pregnancy complications
Results of a new study support the hypothesis that chronic periodontal infection increases the risk of developing preeclampsia in pregnant women. This study printed in February's issue of the Journal of Periodontology....The results also suggest that maternal chronic periodontal disease is a risk factor for low birthweight babies among preeclamptic mothers compared to those women who did not have...Stopping antidepressants during pregnancy may lead to symptom recurrence
Women who stop taking antidepressant medications during pregnancy are at a five times greater risk for recurrence of depression than are women who continue taking their medication throughout their pregnancies, according to a multi-institutional study published in the February 1 Journal of the American Medical Association. The findings, from the first systematic clinical study of depression relap...Women with major depression at risk of relapse during pregnancy
Contrary to a common belief that the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy provide a protective effect against depression, women with major depression who discontinue antidepressant medication during pregnancy are at risk of relapse, according to a study in the February 1 issue of JAMA.... ...Lee S. Cohen, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and collea...Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy could reduce osteoporosis in 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. The study shows that children whose mothers were lacking in vitamin D during pregnancy grow up to have weaker bones. ... ...Vitamin D insufficiency is common in women of childbearing age. Professor Cyrus Coo...In the January issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers have published a new investigation measuring sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) before and after discontinuation of the oral contraceptive pill. The research concluded that women who used the oral contraceptive pill may be exposed to long-term problems from low values of "unbound" testosterone potentially leading to continuing...The longer it takes to get pregnant, the more chance there is of having a boy, finds a study in this week's BMJ....... Dutch researchers analysed data for 5,283 women who gave birth to single babies between July 2001 and July 2003....... Among the 498 women who took longer than 12 months to get pregnant, the probability of male offspring was nearly 58%, whereas the proportion of male births among...