Category: Pregnancy
Study Links Smoking Bans to Fewer Pre-Term Births
Banning smoking in enclosed public places may lead to lower rates of preterm birth, according to Belgian researchers who say the findings point to health benefits of smoke-free laws even in very early life. It is well known that smoking during pregnancy can stunt the growth of unborn babies and shorten gestation, and that second-hand…
Read MoreMore Evidence Prenatal Folic Acid May Lower Autism Risk
More evidence suggests that prenatal folic acid supplementation may lower the risk of developing autism. A population-based cohort study of almost 85,000 children in Norway showed that those children whose mothers used supplemental folic acid early in pregnancy had 39% lower odds of having autistic disorder than those whose mothers did not use the supplements….
Read MoreSeasonal Flu Vaccine Safe in Early Pregnancy, Study Confirms
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 20 – A new study provides additional reassurance on the safety of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine during the first trimester of pregnancy, say researchers with the Vaccine Safety Datalink team in a paper published today. “We found no increased risk of spontaneous abortion during a four-week exposure window after vaccination….
Read MoreVitamin D Deficiency in Pregnancy Linked to Low Birth Weight
Vitamin D levels in early pregnancy are closely related to birth weight, head circumference and ponderal index, but not placental growth, in term infants, according to a study published online November 16 and in the January 2013 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Alison D. Gernand, PhD, MPH, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of…
Read MoreHeavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Disrupts Brain Development
Heavy prenatal exposure to alcohol may disrupt proper brain development during childhood and adolescence, new research suggests. An international, multisite study of 133 children and youth showed, through the use of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, that those who had mothers who drank heavily during pregnancy had significantly decreased brain plasticity compared with the…
Read MoreLabor Induction Does Not Increase Cesarean Risk
Low-risk pregnant women whose labor is induced at term might have no higher risk of cesarean delivery than women who deliver later, a large retrospective study suggests. In fact, perinatal outcomes may be improved. In a September 21 online paper in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Yvonne W. Cheng of the University…
Read MoreProgresterons Curb Preterm Singleton Births
Pooled data indicate that progestogens may help prevent preterm birth among women who’ve delivered early in the past, according to researchers based in Tennessee. But the evidence wasn’t very strong, and any benefit appears limited to singleton pregnancies. As Dr. Frances E. Likis told Reuters Health by email, “Progestogens prevent preterm birth in women who…
Read MoreLarge Fibroids Tied to Adverse Obstetric Outcomes
Pregnant women with large uterine fibroids are at significantly increased risk for delivery at an earlier gestational age and for excessive blood loss, researchers said recently. Dr. Valerie I. Shavell and colleagues at Michigan’s Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Detroit Medical Center noted in a November 17th online paper in Fertility and…
Read MoreUpdated Recommendations for Tdap Include Pregnant Women
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking measures to fill a gap in the protection of infants from pertussis, by vaccinating pregnant women and people in contact with infants younger than 1 year. The tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccine consists of tetanus toxoid, reduced…
Read MoreHigh Carb Intake in Pregnancy Linked to Gallbladder Disease
A high carbohydrate intake in pregnancy raises the risk of developing gallstones, according to investigators at the University of Washington, Seattle, who presented their findings here at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2011. The study involved 3070 women in their first trimester of pregnancy. Results showed that the risk for gallbladder disease was significantly higher among…
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