Feature Channels: OBGYN

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have yet to answer the age-old question of whether or how sound shapes the minds of fetuses in the womb, and expectant mothers often wonder about the benefits of such activities as playing music during pregnancy. Now, in experiments in newborn mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins report that sounds appear to change “wiring” patterns in areas of the brain that process sound earlier than scientists assumed and even before the ear canal opens.

• share
• favorite_border

New research in mice suggests that exercising during pregnancy may help prevent children—especially boys—from developing health problems related to their parents’ obesity. The study is published ahead of print in the Journal of Applied Physiology. It was chosen as an APSselect article for February.

• share
• favorite_border

Breastfeeding expert Melissa Bartick, MD, MS, FABM, a hospitalist at Mount Auburn Hospital and colleagues, provide new evidence that the benefits of keeping infants and mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 together likely outweigh the risks of infection to babies born to mothers with COVID-19.

• share
• favorite_border

Justin Brandt, an assistant professor in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and director of quality and safety for the department of OB/GYN, talks about the information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and what pregnant women should consider when deciding whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

• share
• favorite_border

Feeding method and affectionate touch patterns in depressed and non-depressed mothers and babies as well as infant’s EEG activity showed that mother-infant affectionate touch differed as a function of mood and feeding method (breastfeeding and bottle-feeding). Infants in the depressed and bottle-fed group reduced touch toward their mothers while breastfeeding had a positive effect on both mother and baby. Infants of depressed and breastfeeding mothers showed neither behavioral nor brain development dysregulation previously found in infants of depressed mothers.

• share
• favorite_border

Women whose household drinking water contained nitrate had babies that weighed, on average, 10 grams less than babies born to mothers where household water had no detectible nitrate, according to a new study. Even low nitrate levels — about half of the allowable level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA — caused an adverse effect.

• share
• favorite_border

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Feb. 9, 2021) — Scientists have devised a new approach for detecting and potentially heading off the effects of two rare pediatric diseases before birth.

• share
• favorite_border

A study of women who were new mothers in the late 1970s found that those who were given longer, paid maternity leave lived healthier lives as they entered middle age.

• share
• favorite_border

Hackensack University Medical Center gynecologic surgeons deliver life-changing results after fibroid surgery

• share
• favorite_border

An abundance of data underscore the importance of breastfeeding and human milk for the optimal health of infants, children, mothers, and society. But while breastfeeding initiation rates have increased to more than 80% in the U.S., a disparity exists for African American mothers and infants. In this group, breastfeeding is initiated only about 69% of the time.

• share
• favorite_border

The February issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology is now available and features new clinical research across a wide range of gastroenterology and hepatology topics, including inflammatory bowel disease, chronic viral hepatitis, biologics during pregnancy, colorectal cancer screening, GI symptoms in COVID-19, health inequities in patients with obesity, and more.

• share
• favorite_border

DALLAS – Feb. 8, 2021 – Pregnant women, who are at increased risk of preterm birth or pregnancy loss if they develop a severe case of COVID-19, need the best possible guidance on whether they should receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according to an article by two UT Southwestern obstetricians published today in JAMA. That guidance can take lessons from what is already known about other vaccines given during pregnancy.

• share
• favorite_border

I have been convinced of the importance of prevention in addressing mental-health problems since the early 1970s, when I began my doctorate in clinical psychology.

• share
• favorite_border

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), a RWJBarnabas Health facility, have named James K. Aikins, Jr., MD, FACOG, FACS chief of gynecologic oncology at Rutgers Cancer Institute and chief of gynecologic oncology services at RWJUH, New Jersey’s largest academic medical center.

• share
• favorite_border

Wayne State University researchers have reported that zinc supplements for men and women attempting to conceive either naturally or through assisted reproduction during the COVID-19 pandemic may prevent mitochondrial damage in young egg and sperm cells.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers identified spinal cord neurons responsible for an itchy sensation after an epidural morphine injection and found a drug that may fix the problem without reducing morphine’s pain-killing effects.

• share
• favorite_border

While the number of immigrants from Arab countries to the United States has steadily increased over the past several years, family and child health research on this population remains scarce. Wayne State University College of Nursing faculty to research this disparity.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Women with a history of diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) are twice as likely by mid-life to develop calcium in heart arteries - a strong predictor of heart disease - even if healthy blood sugar levels were attained many years after pregnancy, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.

• share
• favorite_border

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers discovered that light pollution leads to more than just wasted energy and washed-out starlight--it can increase the likelihood of a preterm birth by almost 13%.

• share
• favorite_border

in a first-of-its-kind study, University of Utah Health scientists found that hormonal IUDs were comparable to copper IUDs for use as emergency contraceptives. The researchers say the finding supports adding hormonal IUDs to current emergency contraception options.

• share
• favorite_border

New research from the University of Iowa and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center demonstrates that offspring can be protected from the effects of prenatal stress by administering a neuroprotective compound during pregnancy.

• share
• favorite_border

The first study of its kind will advance research on the effects of prenatal and postnatal stress on child psychopathology.

• share
• favorite_border

The study, which followed 240 pregnant women between March and June 2020, found that the COVID-19 mortality rate in the pregnant women was significantly higher when compared to the COVID-19 mortality rate in similarly aged individuals within Washington state.

• share
• favorite_border

For mice, the earliest social memories can form at three days old and last into adulthood, scientists report on January 26 in the journal Cell Reports.

• share
• favorite_border

Loyola Medicine today announced it has received a $100,180 grant award from Aetna Better Health of Illinois, a CVS Health company, to assist in meeting a number of maternal health goals for the communities it serves by helping to bring the CenteringParenting program to Loyola.

• share
• favorite_border

UC Davis MIND Institute researchers used machine learning to crunch 10,000 autoantibody pattern combinations to identify maternal biomarkers associated with a sub-type of autism. The findings have implications for early diagnosis and intervention.

• share
• favorite_border

Humans are among the few species that lack overt physical indicators of female fertility. One explanation for concealed ovulation in human females is that hiding fertility from males helps females secure resources from males for raising children. A new model developed by a team of evolutionary scientists casts doubt on this idea, showing that females might have evolved to conceal ovulation from one another, not from males.

• share
• favorite_border

Research from the University of Kent has demonstrated a decline in 'son preference' by women of childbearing age in Bangladesh. However, the study also shows that fertility decisions are still influenced according to son preference.

• share
• favorite_border

At 30 weeks pregnant, most women would be putting the finishing touches on the nursery, rounding up remaining baby gear, and packing their hospital bag. But Jacqueline Parchem, MD, was faced with an additional task – deciding whether to receive the COVID-19 vaccine despite limited data for pregnant women.

• share
• favorite_border

For the study 40 infants of women diagnosed with postpartum depression were matched with 40 infants of non-depressed mothers on infant age, gender and socioeconomic status. The mothers with postpartum depression received nine weeks of group CBT. The infants were all tested before the treatment and nine weeks later, including a questionnaire on the infant behaviour completed by the mother and her partner.

• share
• favorite_border

New research suggests a unique program called Moms2B at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center shows a reduction in adverse pregnancy outcomes in communities disproportionately affected by these public health issues.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study out of the University of Chicago and Stanford University on pairs of twins with and without food allergies has identified potential microbial players in this condition.

• share
• favorite_border

If pregnant individuals catch COVID they will generally get sicker than non-pregnant individuals. They also more commonly end up on ECMO [heart-lung support], in the ICU or on ventilators.

• share
• favorite_border

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) does not recommend cessation of breastfeeding for individuals who are vaccinated against COVID-19.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania have identified ionizable lipid nanoparticles that could be used to deliver mRNA as part of fetal therapy. The proof-of-concept study, published today in Science Advances, engineered and screened a number of lipid nanoparticle formulations for targeting mouse fetal organs and has laid the groundwork for testing potential therapies to treat genetic diseases before birth.

• share
• favorite_border

Expert from the Gynecologic Oncology Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey shares information about cervical health to highlight cervical health awareness month.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Announcement of a $7.5 million gift from Steve and Loree Potash of Bentleyville, Ohio, to University Hospitals to establish the Steve and Loree Potash Women & Newborn Center at UH Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood, Ohio. Part of the UH Ahuja Phase 2 expansion, the new center will bring the trusted and collaborative care of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s and UH MacDonald Women’s hospitals to the eastside, introducing maternal-fetal care and a full spectrum of labor and delivery services to the UH Ahuja campus.

• share
• favorite_border

Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center welcomed the hospital’s first baby of 2021 on January 2 at 7:11 p.m.

• share
• favorite_border

A research study at the University of Chicago has found that in pregnancy, while the T cell response to a fetus becomes tolerant to allow for successful pregnancy, the part of the immune system that produces antibodies (known as the humoral response) becomes sensitized, creating memory B cells that can later contribute to the rejection of a transplanted organ.

• share
• favorite_border

A comprehensive analysis – led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis – has found no benefit in providing supplemental oxygen to mothers during labor and delivery, a decades-long and common practice. Infants born to women who received supplemental oxygen fared no better or no worse than those born to women who had similar labor experiences but breathed room air.

• share
• favorite_border

Very low birthweight infants are at a high risk for anemia and often need blood transfusions to survive.

• share
• favorite_border

When using social media to nudge people toward safe and healthy behaviors, it’s critical to make sure the words match the pictures, according to a new study. After looking at social media posts, parents of young children were better able to recall safety messages such as how to put a baby safely to sleep when the images in the posts aligned with the messages in the text.

• share
• favorite_border

Recent analyses indicate that pregnant women and newborns may face elevated risks of developing more severe cases of COVID-19 following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

• share
• favorite_border

Pregnant women may be especially vulnerable to developing more severe cases of COVID-19 following SARS-CoV-2 infection, but little is known about their anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response or how it may affect their offspring.

• share
• favorite_border

Machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, can predict which women are at high risk of developing gestational diabetes and lead to earlier intervention, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

• share
• favorite_border

Antibiotics for cesarean section births are just as effective when they’re given after the umbilical cord is clamped as before clamping – the current practice – and could benefit newborns’ developing microbiomes, according to Rutgers co-authored research. The study, by far the largest of its kind and published in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, challenges current recommendations for antibiotic use. Administering antibiotics after clamping does not increase the risk of infection at the site of C-section incisions, the study concludes.