Low Birth Weight
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.
Effects of a first miscarriage on future pregnanciesMiscarriage (or spontaneous pregnancy loss) is defined as pregnancy loss before 24 completed weeks of gestation. There is a 20% (one in five) risk of pregnancies ending in a miscarriage in the first three months and one in 100 women have recurrent miscarriages (three or more successive miscarriages).
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.
Second hand smoke increases infectious diseases risk in infantsSecond hand smoke decreases immunity in infants and thereby raises risk of infectious diseases and early hospitalization even in the first year of life in infants, revealed by researchers in the BMJ journal Tobacco Control.
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.
Tobacco use, secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy, may threaten healthRates of tobacco use during pregnancy, as well as exposure of pregnant women and their young children to secondhand smoke, are significant threats to health in several low and middle-income countries, reveals a study from National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Teenage fathers have babies with birth problemsTeenage fathers carry an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes, whereas advanced paternal age is not an independent risk factor for adverse birth outcomes, revealed by researchers in a study published in Human Reproduction.
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.
Infants with birthmarks received less oxygen in wombA hemangioma is a benign tumor of cells that line blood vessels, appearing during the first few weeks of life as a large birthmark or lesion. A study published in Pediatric Dermatology reveals that a disturbance of oxygen depletion was found in placentas of babies who developed infantile hemangioma (IH).
Obese pregnant women give birth to heavier babiesThe number of overweight and obese Americans continues to grow rapidly. Today, 50 percent of adults are overweight and up to 20 percent are obese. While the number of overweight/obese children is at an all time high, the steady increase of overweight infants – individuals under 11 months old – is alarming.