The effects of antioxidants, like many supplements, are not fully known. Now, Weizmann Institute Prof. Nava Dekel has found that while antioxidants do fight “bad” reactive oxygen species, they can also inhibit “good” forms, such as those related to triggering ovulation. The finding’s potential implications include a new, safer form of birth control.
A research team that includes scientists from the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) reported today that inadequate nutrition during early pregnancy impairs fetal brain development.
The researchers found decreased formation of cell-to-cell connections, cell division and amounts of growth factors in the fetuses of mothers fed a reduced diet during the first half of pregnancy, in baboons located at SFBR’s Southwest National Primate Research Center.
Chances of becoming parents are constantly increasing with options that now include improved embryology laboratory techniques including day-5 blastocyst transfers, single embryo transfers, egg freezing, preimplantation genetic testing (PGD), and egg and sperm donation, all of which will be discussed Jan. 20 at Greenwich Hospital.
A researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has helped to develop the first genetic blood test for predicting the chances that in vitro fertilization (IVF) will lead to a successful pregnancy. The test, reported in the online medical journal PLoS One, is based on the finding that different subtypes of the FMR1 gene (also known as the fragile X mental retardation gene) in potential mothers are associated with significantly different chances of conceiving with IVF.
Intrauterine devices (IUDs) for contraception are safe and effective, but only a small fraction of women in the United States use them. Now, a national survey of family physicians conducted by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, has found that family physicians typically have gaps in knowledge about IUDs, are often uncomfortable discussing them with patients, and frequently believe that their patients would not be receptive to talking about IUDs. The findings are published in the December 3 online issue of Contraception.
Residents of Cuyahoga County, and later Lorain County, will soon have the opportunity to contribute to the establishment of a national resource for childhood growth and development. The National Children’s Study is the largest, long-term study of children’s health ever conducted in the U.S.
A University of Adelaide reproductive biologist has achieved a major breakthrough in IVF technology that is expected to help millions of women around the world who have suffered previous miscarriages after IVF treatment.
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have found that a significant increase of an enzyme in the blood vessels of pregnant women with preeclampsia may explain some of the symptoms associated with the condition, including hypertension, swelling and protein in the urine.
Many young people who’ve just learned that they have cancer also are told that the therapies that may save their lives could rob them of their ability ever to have children. Infertility caused by chemotherapy and radiation affects a sizable population: Of the 1.5 million people diagnosed with cancer in 2009, nearly 10 percent were still in their reproductive years.
Often, late-preterm infants are treated the same as full-term infants since they are commonly a similar size and weight. Growing research is showing that this can be detrimental to a late-preterm infant’s health and frequently results in readmission to the hospital within the first month of life.
Loyola chair of OB/GYN candidly and humorously discusses the medical community's race for the first baby of the new year and defines the terms and ways to win.
Using buprenorphine instead of methadone — the current standard of care — to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women may result in healthier babies, suggests new findings from an international team led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the Dec. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Every year, more than 50,000 babies are born premature in the United States. Despite the notable advances in neonatal care, these premature infants often suffer from preterm birth complications – the single largest cause of infant mortality. In order to better understand preterm birth, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) have partnered to form the Ohio Perinatal Research Network (OPRN).
Mandatory genetic screening of newborns for rare diseases is creating unexpected upheaval for families whose infants test positive for risk factors but show no immediate signs of the diseases, a new UCLA study warns.
Women with transient restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy appear to be at a higher risk of developing a chronic form of RLS later in life or have the same symptoms during future pregnancies, according to new research published in the December 7, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. RLS is a sleep-related motor disorder that causes an unpleasant feeling in the legs. The condition generally worsens during rest at night and improves with movement. Symptoms tend to progress with age.
In retrospective research reported today at the 64th American Epilepsy Society annual meeting, all newborns in a study who received IV levetiracetam for their seizures had achieved acute seizure freedom within 72 hours of being treated. Improvement both in brain wave activity and in clinically observable behavior was seen in 86 percent of newborns in the study within an hour after the initial dosing.
Thanks to findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, individuals with a potentially life-threatening condition predisposing them to blood clots, or thrombosis, might someday receive therapy to prevent the condition.
A ubiquitous environmental chemical may impair female reproductive capacity, according to a study published online on December 2, 2010, in Environmental Health Perspectives. Fertility decreased over time in female mice that had been exposed during fetal and neonatal development to doses of bisphenol-A (BPA) that were comparable to human environmental levels.
A more rapid laboratory test for pregnant women to detect Group B strep (GBS), the most common cause of life-threatening infections in newborns, is being studied by researchers at UTHealth.
Tiny molecules called microRNAs act together with hormones to control the onset of labor, raising the prospect that RNA-based drugs might be able to prevent premature labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a preclinical study.
Despite lack of evidence about bed rest’s effectiveness, doctors annually prescribe it for roughly 1 million pregnant women to delay births. Judith Maloni, professor of nursing at Case Western Reserve University, said a comprehensive review of more than 70 evidence-based research articles challenges whether this is healthy for mothers — or their babies.
For newborn infants, being held and swaddled is a simple and effective way to reduce pain during routine blood sampling, reports a study in the November/December issue of MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing.
Forceps might be a better instrument than a vacuum cup for assisting a successful birth, but new mothers might experience more trauma and complications after a forceps delivery, according to a new review of studies.
A team of mostly undergraduate students has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Members will use the money to travel to Uganda to test their novel system for portable maternal ultrasound.
Research on hyperemesis gravidarum—an extreme form of pregnancy-related morning sickness—suggests not only that the condition could be genetic but that women with sisters who had HG could have a more than 17-fold risk of experiencing the debilitating condition too.
Babies born to mothers who eat peanuts during pregnancy appear more prone to peanut allergy, according to research conducted by scientists at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and elsewhere and published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The research team was led by Scott Sicherer, M.D., of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
Researchers may have identified a promising novel diagnostic biomarker for ectopic pregnancy, according to a study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). In the western world, deaths from ectopic pregnancy are not common but in the developing world one in ten women who are admitted with an ectopic pregnancy die.
A new study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Norwegian researchers has found that women with anorexia nervosa are much more likely to have both unplanned pregnancies and induced abortions than women who don’t have the serious eating disorder.
The method used to assess infertility in at-home tests might not be the best for identifying which women will have trouble getting pregnant, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.
Ask someone in the know to list the substances in breast milk that make it the ideal food for newborns and you may hear about proteins that guard against infection, fats that aid in the development of the nervous system and carbohydrates that promote the growth of healthy bacteria. But, you may not hear too much about the nitrite and nitrate in breast milk and their contributions to developing gastrointestinal, immune and cardiovascular systems.
The New York State Chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District II (ACOG) has partnered with the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center to develop the fifth and final chapter to the Focus on Female Cancers resource guide.
Women with epilepsy may be more likely to experience infertility, according to new research published in the October 12, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Babies whose mothers who receive influenza vaccines while pregnant appear less likely to be infected with flu or hospitalized for respiratory illnesses in their first six months of life, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
A team of scientists from Mayo Clinic, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the J. Craig Venter Institute are leveraging a long-standing research relationship to apply results from the Human Microbiome Project to help identify microbial risk predictors for preterm birth.
Investigators found that women who give birth after suffering pelvic fractures receive C-sections at more than double normal rates despite the fact that vaginal delivery after such injuries is possible.
Children conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) perform at least as well as their peers on academic tests at all ages from grade 3 to 12, according to a new University of Iowa study.
Giving birth in an alternative setting within a hospital − like a bed-free birthing room or one designed to be “homelike”− is just as safe for healthy women as laboring in a traditional hospital bed.
Three-dimensional MRI is an emerging and useful technique for displaying fetal anatomy and diagnosing problems in the womb, according to Jeffrey C. Hellinger, M.D., of Stony Brook University Medical Center.
An analysis of data from Denmark finds no associated increased risk of major birth defects for mothers who were exposed during the first trimester of pregnancy to the antiviral drugs acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir, often used to treat herpes simplex and herpes zoster infections, according to a study in the August 25 issue of JAMA.
An antidepressant can alleviate symptoms of major depression in women experiencing or about to experience menopause, according to a study released today led by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher.
The first study to compare the effectiveness of the birth control pill in women with marked weight differences has found that the pill works equally well in women with obesity and thinner women. This new finding by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center refutes a long-held conviction among many doctors that the pill may not reliably prevent pregnancy in women who are overweight or obese.
A community-based maternal health delivery strategy known as the MOM Project (mobile obstetric medics) dramatically increased access to maternal health care services for internally displaced woman in eastern Burma, according to a new study.The researchers believe the MOM Project could be a model for maternal health care delivery in settings where resources are extremely limited.
An analysis of more than 200,000 deliveries finds that compared to infants born at full term, those born between 34 weeks and 37 weeks are more likely to have severe respiratory illness, and this risk decreases with each added week of gestational age during the late preterm period, according to a study in the July 28 issue of JAMA.
A team led by UIC researchers report that babies born between 34 weeks and 37 weeks gestation are much more likely to have respiratory illness compared to infants born at full term, and their risk of respiratory illness decreases with each additional week of gestation until 38 weeks.