Embryo
Water aerobics in pregnancy help pregnant women during laborA course of water aerobics classes has been shown to reduce the amount of pain-killing medication women request during labor.
Obese women may have safe pregnancy after weight loss surgeryObese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Birth defects rate high in infants born with assisted reproductive technologyInfants conceived with Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) are two to four times more likely to have certain types of birth defects than children conceived naturally, according to a study by the CDC.
Limit caffeine consumption during pregnancyThe Food Standards Agency of UK has issued new advice on caffeine consumption during pregnancy. This follows the results of new FSA-funded research carried out by the Universities of Leeds and Leicester.
Depressed pregnant women may have preterm deliveryDepressed pregnant women have twice the risk of preterm delivery than pregnant women with no symptoms of depression, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.
Exercise guidelines urge physical activity during pregnancyModerate physical activity during pregnancy does not contribute to low birth weight, premature birth or miscarriage and may actually reduce the risk of complications, according to a Michigan State University professor who contributed to the U.S. government's first-ever guidelines on physical activity.
Nicotine gum for pregnant smokersNicotine gum might help pregnant women to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke, which could reduce their risk of having premature or low-birthweight infants.
Increased risk of pregnancy problems in Asian-whitePregnant women who are part of an Asian-white couple face an increased risk of gestational diabetes as compared with couples in which both partners are white, according to a new study from Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Miscarriage risk high in obese pregnant womenOverweight women with a tendency towards obesity run a greater risk of repeat miscarriages and should be advised to lose weight before they try and become pregnant again, revealed by researchers at London's St Mary's Hospital.
ANMUM Materna prenatal milk recalled from ChinaFonterra China today announced a voluntary recall of one batch of prenatal milk sold in China under the ANMUM Materna brand name.
BIO welcomes advances in stem cell researchBiotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood issued the following statement regarding the news that researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute created 20 disease-specific stem cell lines thru the new induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technique:
Epilepsy drug topiramate during pregnancy raises birth defects riskTaking the epilepsy drug topiramate alone or along with other epilepsy drugs during pregnancy may increase the risk of birth defects, according to a study published in the July 22, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Miscarriage risk in pregnant rises when man is over 35Pregnancy rates decrease and miscarriages increase when a father is over 35 years of age, a scientist will tell the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology on Monday 7 July.
Low vitamin D level during pregnancy affects baby's dental healthLow maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early-childhood tooth decay.
Stem cell therapy may prove valuable in paralysisAn amazing recovery noticed in an Australian Perry Cross who is quadriplegic, after regular injections of embryonic stem cells. Perry Cross was a rugby player and he got the paralysis of all his limbs in 1994 when he was 19 years old. Since then he was on ventilator to breath.
DNA fingerprinting to identify viable embryos after IVFFertility researchers have used DNA fingerprinting for the first time to identify which embryos have implanted after in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and developed successfully to result in the births of healthy babies.
Heart stem cells grow into heart musclesDutch researchers at University Medical Center Utrecht and the Hubrecht Institute have succeeded in growing large numbers of stem cells from adult human hearts into new heart muscle cells. A breakthrough in stem cell research.
Cancer stem cells created with genes techniqueWith a bit of genetic trickery, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have turned normal skin cells into cancer stem cells, a step that will make these naturally rare cells easier to study.
Heart disease predetermined by oxygen levels in the wombThe amount of oxygen available to a baby in the womb can affect their susceptibility to developing particular diseases later in life. Research presented at the annual Society for Endocrinology BES meeting in Harrogate shows that your risk of developing cardiovascular disease can be predetermined before birth, not only by your genes, but also by their interaction with the quality of the environment you experience in the womb.
Genotyping DNA may reduce unnecessary treatment for blood disorder in pregnancyA new test for identifying a mismatch between the blood of a pregnant woman and her baby is accurate, feasible, and could substantially reduce unnecessary treatment, finds a study published on bmj.com.
Pregnant women should use seatbeltProper seatbelt use by pregnant women would save 200 fetuses a year, University of Michigan study finds. This new study could have a profound effect on fetal deaths and injuries caused by car crashes.
Parents contribute to breech delivery in offspringA baby is twice as likely to be born bottom first if either or both the parents were themselves breech deliveries, according to a study published ahead of print on bmj.com. The results suggest genes are a contributing factor.
Avoid alcohol in pregnancyResponding to the release of UK's NICE antenatal guidelines for pregnant women, Mervi Jokinen of the Royal College of Midwives, UK, said: "We welcome the guidelines which are evidence based, but feel that more clarity is needed about pregnancy and alcohol.
Therapeutic cloning may treat Parkinson's diseaseResearch led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) has shown that therapeutic cloning, also known as somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), can be used to treat Parkinson's disease in mice.
Women's labour experiences differ from expectationsA pain-free and drug-free labour may be many expectant mothers' dream but a review in the open access journal BMC Medicine reveals that reality hits hard. Most women's labour experiences differ markedly from their expectations. They are often ill-prepared for what might happen and consequently may be disappointed when the birth does not "go to plan".
Quit smoking in pregnancy to have easy going childGiving up smoking during pregnancy may boost the chances of giving birth to an easy going child, indicates research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Stem cell funding for Parkinson's DiseaseThe Parkinson's Disease Society (PD) has announced funding of £170k to the University of Bristol for research into how to make stem cells produce dopamine and live longer after they have been transplanted into animals.
Stem cells may aid stroke recoveryNeural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells helped repair stroke-related damage in the brains of rats and led to improvements in their physical abilities, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Many maternal deaths worldwide are preventableWomen who die during pregnancy and childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa, more may die from treatable infectious diseases than from conditions directly linked to pregnancy, revealed by researchers.
Herpes virus link to complications in pregnancyViral infection with high blood pressure during pregnancy may lead to pre-term birth, revealed by researchers at Adelaide's Women's & Children's Hospital and the University of Adelaide.
In Vitro Fertilization Research Centre in AIIMS, IndiaThe Indian Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, dedicated to the Nation the first state of the art In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Research Centre established at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Acupuncture during IVF improves pregnancy chancesAcupuncture given with embryo transfer improves rates of pregnancy and live birth among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation cycle (IVF), revealed by US researchers. Acupuncture given within one day of IVF proved beneficial.
Pregnancy may make women forgetful for a yearMany women believe that they become more forgetful during pregnancy: a new study by Australian researchers suggests that they are right - and that their memory can be significantly impaired for at least a year after giving birth.
Stress in pregnancy may lead to schizophrenia in offspringMost societies believe that a mother's psychological state can influence her unborn baby. Children of women who undergo an extremely stressful event-such as the death of a close relative-during the first trimester of pregnancy appear more likely to develop schizophrenia, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Genetic mutation increases risk of preterm birthGenetic mutations in the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene appear to have significant association with inflammatory injury to the placenta and developing baby, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences report at the 28th annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Scientific sessions continue through Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Dallas Hyatt Regency at Reunion.
Overweight pregnant women may have fatter childrenMothers-to-be beware. Women who are overweight during pregnancy may be more likely to have fatter children susceptible to chronic health problems, University of New South Wales (UNSW) research shows.
Prenatal starvation may lead to addiction later in lifeBabies conceived during a period of famine are at risk of developing addictions later in life, and a range of chronic disorders including physical conditions such as coronary heart disease, and psychiatric ones such as schizophrenia and clinical depression.
Maternity care in UK varies - Healthcare Commission reviewThe Healthcare Commission has ranked one in four NHS maternity services as "best performing" in a national review published today, but the comparative review, the most comprehensive assessment ever of maternity services in England, also found significant variations in the quality of care across the country.
Pancreatic stem cells may cure diabetesJust as many scientists had given up the search, researchers have discovered that the pancreas does indeed harbor stem cells with the capacity to generate new insulin-producing beta cells. If the finding made in adult mice holds for humans, the newfound progenitor cells will represent "an obvious target for therapeutic regeneration of beta cells in diabetes," the researchers report in the Jan. 25 issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press.
New research into scar-free faster healingNew research from the University of Bristol shows that by suppressing one of the genes that normally switches on in wound cells, wounds can heal faster and reduce scarring. This has major implications not just for wound victims but also for people who suffer organ tissue damage through illness or abdominal surgery.
Stem cells may improve muscles in muscular dystrophyUsing embryonic stem cells from mice, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have prompted the growth of healthy - and more importantly, functioning - muscle cells in mice afflicted with a human model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The study represents the first time transplanted embryonic stem cells have been shown to restore function to defective muscles in a model of muscular dystrophy.
Caffeine during pregnancy increases miscarriage riskHigh doses of daily caffeine during pregnancy – whether from coffee, tea, caffeinated soda or hot chocolate – cause an increased risk of miscarriage, according a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study controlled, for the first time, pregnancy-related symptoms of nausea, vomiting and caffeine aversion that tended to interfere with the determination of caffeine's true effect on miscarriage risk.
Lhx2 creator gene for brain tissue repairUniversity of California, Irvine researchers have identified a gene that is specifically responsible for generating the cerebral cortex, a finding that could lead to stem cell therapies to treat brain injuries and diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer's.
Sickle cell anemia treated with stem cellsMIT researchers have successfully treated mice with sickle-cell anemia in a process that begins by directly reprogramming the mice's own cells to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, without the use of eggs.
Living embryonic heart cells prevent cardiac arrhythmiasWhen researchers at Cornell, the University of Bonn and the University of Pittsburgh transplanted living embryonic heart cells into cardiac tissue of mice that had suffered heart attacks, the mice became resistant to cardiac arrhythmias, thereby avoiding one of the most dangerous and fatal consequences of heart attacks.
Study of environmental chemicals in pregnant women and their babiesThe Government of Canada announced a $3.9 million investment in Canada's largest study of environmental chemicals in pregnant women and their babies. To mark National Child Day and the one-year anniversary of the Chemicals Management Plan on December 8, the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, Canada announced this important step.