Queensland University of Technology (QUT) world-first research has found a link between increases in temperature and the incidence of stillbirth and shorter pregnancies. Associate Professor Adrian Barnett of QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) led a study that looked at the incidence of still and premature births in Brisbane over a four-year period from 2005...

Inhaled glucocorticoids for the treatment of asthma during pregnancy are not associated with an increased risk of most diseases in offspring, but may be a risk factor for endocrine and metabolic disturbances, according to a new study...

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a birth defect characterized by a severe malformation (hole) in the child's diaphragm that leads to pulmonary hypoplasia, an incomplete development of the lungs and is major cause of infant mortality...

According to a novel investigation, inhaled glucocorticoids for treating women with asthma during pregnancy are not connected with increased risks of most diseases in children. However, the treatment might be a risk factor for metabolic and endocrine disturbances...

A common oral bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum, acts like a key to open a door in human blood vessels and leads the way for it and other bacteria like Escherichia coli to invade the body through the blood and make people sick, according to dental researchers at Case Western Reserve University...

A new study co-authored by the University of Kentucky's Dr. John O'Brien found that applying vaginal progesterone to women who are at a high risk of preterm birth significantly decreased the odds of a premature delivery...

A new study published in the journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology reveals that fetal tracheal occlusion (FETO) improves infant survival rate in severe cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)...

Women with a short cervix should be treated with vaginal progesterone to prevent preterm birth, according to a landmark study by leading obstetricians around the world...

More than one baby in every 50 is born with a birth defect (congenital anomaly) according to the latest annual report by the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers (BINOCAR) - significantly more common than previously reported estimates of around one in 80...

According to the largest study on the effects of malaria and different anti-malarial drugs in early pregnancy to date, just one episode of malaria in the first trimester is linked to a three-fold greater risk of miscarriage. Researchers also discovered that women treated with anti-malarial drugs did not suffer any serious side effects or increase their likelihood of miscarriage...

According to a study published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction on December 8th, mothers who are stressed during the second and third trimester of pregnancy can reduce the length of their pregnancy and increase the risk of their unborn child being born prematurely...

The researchers studied the immune response of 107 pregnant women after they were injected with a single dose of non-adjuvant H1N1 vaccine. They concluded that the influenza shot boosted the immune response in pregnant women and at the same time protected neuronatal babies via the antibodies that transferred through the placenta...

Stress in the second and third months of pregnancy can shorten pregnancies, increase the risk of pre-term births and may affect the ratio of boys to girls being born, leading to a decline in male babies. These are the conclusions of a study that investigated the effect on pregnant women of the stress caused by the 2005 Tarapaca earthquake in Chile...

According to the Philips Mother & Child Care Index, expecting and new parents in the U.S. are doing whatever they can to ensure their children have a healthy future, including breastfeeding their babies for as long as possible. The newly released special report surveyed 5,600 parents from across the United States, South Africa, Egypt, U.S...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate processes including fertilization, development, and aging show promise as biomarkers of disease. They can be collected from routinely collected fluids such as blood, saliva, and urine. However, a number of factors can interfere with the accuracy of miRNA tests...

Forty percent of women who report depressive symptoms following birth also reported intimate partner violence finds a new study published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The study also found that most of the women reporting postnatal depressive symptoms first reported this at six months after birth or later...

A study just published by a Dartmouth team of scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) advances our understanding of the sources of human exposure to arsenic and focuses attention on the potential for consuming harmful levels of arsenic via rice. Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment and in elevated concentrations it can be harmful to human health...

A report published by Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, shows mothers experiencing a psychiatric episode in the first 30 days post-partum appear to have an increased risk of developing bipolar affective disorder...

A comparison of home-birth trends of the 1970s finds many similarities - and some differences - related to current trends in home births. For instance, in the 1970s - as now - women opting to engage in home births tended to have higher levels of education...

A study published online in General Hospital Psychiatry shows women at risk for suicide may be easier identified, by increasing screening of expectant and new mothers for major depression and conflicts with intimate partners...