Depressed 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. The study is published online in the Oxford University Press's journal Human Reproduction on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

University of New South Wales (UNSW) research has highlighted a link between childhood obesity and a mother's diet before and during pregnancy. The work in animals proves that overweight expectant mothers are more likely to have babies with more body fat, who are at greater risk of diabetes and lipid metabolic disorders later in life. Previous research shows that around 30 percent of women who become pregnant are overweight.

Monash University has secured $32 million in the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding - the University's highest ever NHMRC funding amount for the greatest number of projects. Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced the health and medical research grants. Monash University researchers will share in a total of $32M for 62 individual projects, including: $1.

As Louise Brown - the first baby conceived by in vitro fertilization - celebrates her 30th birthday in 2008, a new book coauthored by a Rutgers medical historian offers the first comprehensive insight into the influence of John Rock, the Harvard-affiliated gynecologist and pioneering researcher, in shaping the field of modern reproductive medicine.

Mothers are casting their votes for healthy babies and asking all Americans to join them in signing the March of Dimes 2008 Petition for Preemies. They're putting public officials - and all Americans - on notice that it's time to focus on the growing problem of premature birth, the leading cause of newborn death.

Two new articles examine the theory of "fetal programming" and their effect on racial health disparities. The studies, published in American Journal of Human Biology, suggest that the higher rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease present in African Americans may be a consequence of low birth weights, and that these low birth weights may be a result of social rather than genetic factors.

Compared to other developed nations the United States appears to be falling behind in infant mortality, that is the percentage of babies that die before reaching their first birthday.

The Washington Post on Sunday examined the high rates of maternal mortality in some developing countries -- an issue that "rarely gets attention from international donors.

Researchers in the US found that contrary to the popular view that having children reduces a woman's brainpower, having children actually improves her lifelong mental agility and protects her brain against the neurodegenerative diseases of old age.

Reproduction pressures and rising fertility explain why women suffered a more rapid decline in dental health than did men as humans transitioned from hunter-and-gatherers to farmers and more sedentary pursuits, says a University of Oregon anthropologist. The conclusion follows a comprehensive review of records of the frequencies of dental cavities in both prehistoric and living human populations from research done around the world.

Although many "[s]ympathetic" politicians and commentators concur with Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's reference to her 17-year-old daughter Bristol's pregnancy as a "normal 'up and down' of family life," teen pregnancy is "far from inevitable" and a "result in part from our inability to talk honestly and wisely about teen sexuality," Amy Schalet, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, writes in a

Childbirth is the top reason for hospitalization in the U.S., but there is a lack of scientific evidence that many costly, high-tech procedures used in maternity care are beneficial for most women, according to a report released on Wednesday by a group of research and advocacy organizations,

India's Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society is launching a campaign that will focus on providing a comprehensive package of HIV/AIDS services to private maternity hospitals in the state in an effort to match services provided at government-run maternity hospitals, The Hindu reports.

Two separate research teams each have developed techniques for noninvasive prenatal blood tests for Down syndrome that have yet to produce a false negative or a false positive result, the New York Times reports.

Moderate 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.

Over 31% of U.S. births are now by cesarean section although a 5% to 10% rate is best for mothers and babies. The extra cost is well over $2.5 billion per year. The excess cesareans buy no reduction in maternal and newborn deaths. But they cause unneeded exposure to the dozens of adverse effects more common with c-sections. This is just the most striking example of how health care provided to mothers giving birth exposes them to avoidable harm and expense.

The New Zealand Medical Association today welcomed the release of the Maternity Action Plan consultation document and Wellington maternity review. Major changes have occurred to New Zealand's maternity system over the past 20 years, at a time when maternity care was not a high priority with the Ministry of Health. There has been no monitoring of the effects of these changes, and inadequate data collection systems, said Dr Mark Peterson, the NZMA's maternity spokesman.

The stories of women who die in India during pregnancy, delivery or from post-partum complications have largely remained untold - until now. A powerful new tool that analyses the underlying medical and social reasons behind maternal death is being used by health experts, policymakers and communities to save women's lives. The Indian Government estimates that 301 women die annually for every 100,000 live births.

A new study in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics explores the effects of pollution from livestock facilities on infant health and finds that production is associated with an increase in infant mortality. Stacy Sneeringer of Wellesley College utilized data on spatial variation in livestock operations from the past two decades to identify the relationship between industry location and infant health.

New research to be published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology examines the effects of a miscarriage on subsequent pregnancies. Miscarriage (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).