Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Pregnancy / Obstetrics News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/pregnancy/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170250.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170250.php In the first days of their lives, French infants already cry in a different way to German babies. This was the result of a study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, the Centre for Pre-language Development and Developmental Disorders (ZVES) at the University Clinic Würzburg, and the Laboratory of Cognitive Sciences and Linguistics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170236.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170236.php "India is falling behind other countries in meeting international commitments to improve obstetric care because it does not adequately monitor deaths and injuries in the critical period following childbirth and fix gaps in its health system and programmes," Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, the Hindu reports. Women's Health / Gynecology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170248.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170248.php Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County experienced a cluster of a particular birth defect, gastroschisis, during the period April 2007 - April 2008. Subsequent review of medical records since the study's conclusion indicates that while the rate is still elevated, the cluster appears to have subsided. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170251.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170251.php A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so. The poll, which examines the American public's response to the H1N1 vaccine shortage, is the fifth in a series of surveys of public views concerning the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH. The polling was done October 30 to November 1, 2009. Swine Flu Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170132.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170132.php Embryonic development is like a well-organised building project, with the embryo's DNA serving as the blueprint from which all construction details are derived. Cells carry out different functions according to a developmental plan, by expressing, i.e. turning on, different combinations of genes. Genetics Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170064.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170064.php Voters in Revere, Mass., on Tuesday rejected a ballot initiative that would have overturned a policy allowing the high school's health clinic to make contraception available, including condoms and emergency contraception, the Boston Globe reports. Sexual Health / STDs Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170102.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170102.php From their very first days, newborns' cries already bear the mark of the language their parents speak, reveals a new study published online on November 5th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The findings suggest that infants begin picking up elements of what will be their first language in the womb, and certainly long before their first babble or coo. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170063.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170063.php The U.S. infant mortality rate is one of the highest among developed countries, primarily because of the nation's high number of premature births, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, the New York Times reports (Grady, New York Times, 11/4). Pregnancy / Obstetrics Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170018.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170018.php Researchers in Australia have identified a link between allergic asthma in 3 to 5 year-old children and exposure to folic acid that their birth mothers took as supplements during late pregnancy. They said the timing of when folic acid is taken in pregnancy might be important. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169857.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169857.php Obese women are as much as 28 percent less likely to become pregnant and have a successful pregnancy, according to research that earned a Michigan State University professor a national award. The findings by Barbara Luke, a researcher in the MSU College of Human Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, focused on data of nearly 50,000 women using assisted reproductive technology. Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169837.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169837.php The Department of Health is publishing new guidance to help the NHS improve the care provided for premature and sick babies during their first days. The NHS has made great progress in caring for babies with the lowest infant mortality rates and NHS neonatal services now care for over 60,000 babies a year. Babies who are born prematurely, or have a low birth weight, require very specialised care in their first hours and days. Pediatrics / Children's Health Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169812.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169812.php U.S. government data released on Monday confirmed that a single dose of the vaccine protects pregnant women from the virus, while children under the age of 10 years need two doses of the vaccine, the Washington Post reports. Swine Flu Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169730.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169730.php In the quest to expand access to high quality prenatal care to communities with limited healthcare services, GE Global Research, the technology development arm for the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), has been awarded a two-year, $1. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169784.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169784.php Pregnant women can receive protection against influenza with one dose of the H1N1 vaccine, while children younger than age 10 should receive two doses, federal officials said on Monday while revealing further results on clinical trials of the vaccine, the New York Times reports (McNeil, New York Times, 11/3). Swine Flu Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169787.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169787.php The Baltimore Sun recently published an opinion piece and an editorial related to reproductive health issues. Summaries appear below.  Susan Reimer, Pregnancy / Obstetrics Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169714.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169714.php Smoking during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of having a child with behavioural problems, which manifest as young as three years of age, reveals research published ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Smoking / Quit Smoking Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169723.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169723.php Penicillin and several other antibacterial medications commonly taken by pregnant women do not appear to be associated with many birth defects, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, other antibiotics, such as sulfonamides and nitrofurantoins, may be associated with several severe birth defects and require additional scrutiny. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169694.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169694.php Infants born to women who received influenza vaccine during pregnancy were hospitalized at a lower rate than infants born to unvaccinated mothers, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. The team presented the study October 29 at the 47th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Philadelphia. Influenza is a major cause of serious respiratory disease in pregnant women and of hospitalization in infants. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169663.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169663.php Healthy pregnant women mount a robust immune response following just one dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, according to initial results from an ongoing clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health. "For pregnant women, who are among the most vulnerable to serious health problems from 2009 H1N1 infection, these initial results are very reassuring," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. Swine Flu Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169522.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169522.php Cystic fibrosis carrier testing should be offered to all couples considering pregnancy and to women in early pregnancy and their partners, according to the authors of a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia. Cystic Fibrosis Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169539.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169539.php Research published ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reports that smoking during pregnancy considerably increases the risk of having a child with behavioral problems. This is noticeable in children as young as three years of age. More than 14,000 mother and child pairs took part in the Millennium Cohort Study. This is a large population based study of UK children born between 2000 and 2001 from families receiving child benefit. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169494.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169494.php Randy A. Fink, MD says pregnant women ought to be shot - with a flu vaccination needle. "A flu shot offers double protection to both mother and baby," says Dr. Fink, a Miami board certified specialist who was recently named one of "America's Top Obstetrician/Gynecologists" by the Consumer Research Council. While many women, particularly first-time mothers, are worried about getting a flu shot while pregnant, Dr. Pregnancy / Obstetrics Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169403.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169403.php Legislation (FID 09-0406) before the Baltimore City Council that would require crisis pregnancy centers to post signs stating that they do not provide abortion services prompted a "contentious" debate at a hearing on Wednesday, the Baltimore Sun reports. Abortion Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169448.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169448.php WHAT: Scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have completed a Phase II clinical study that indicates a vaccine to prevent Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection is possible. GBS is the most common cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Immune System / Vaccines Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169336.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169336.php The odds triple for premature child delivery in pregnant women with a history of depression who used psychiatric medication, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Washington, University of Michigan and Michigan State University found that a combination of medication use and depression - either before or during pregnancy - was strongly linked to delivery before 35 weeks' gestation. Pregnancy / Obstetrics