http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A study of around 1,000 UK mothers and their children, published in The Lancet, has revealed that iodine deficiency in pregnancy may have an adverse effect on children's mental development. The research raises concerns that the iodine status of pregnant women is a public health issue that needs to be addressed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-iodine-deficiency-pregnancy-adversely-affect.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 21 May 2013 18:30:04 EST news288376587 Nearly three out of four pregnant women experience constipation, diarrhea or other bowel disorders during their pregnancies, a Loyola University Medical Center study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-percent-pregnant-women-constipation-bowel.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 20 May 2013 15:38:22 EST news288283088 Subfertile women who conceive through assisted reproduction are more likely to experience a greater traumatic impact following early pregnancy loss compared with women who conceive naturally, suggests a new study published today (1 May) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-psychological-trauma-miscarriage-women-reproduction.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:00:05 EST news286563373 A study of nearly 4,000 pairs of mothers and their children in the Children of the '90s study at the University of Bristol has shown that maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy are not associated with the child's bone health in later life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-maternal-vitamin-d-pregnancy-affect.html Health Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:30:03 EST news282829319 Nearly every woman takes a medication at some point during pregnancy. Yet there's disturbingly little easy-to-understand information about which drugs pose a risk to her baby, and what to do about it. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-hard-good-info-drug-safety.html Medications Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:30:02 EST news282313202 (HealthDay)—A drug commonly used to treat severe cases of morning sickness does not appear to be linked to birth defects or other risks to the baby, a large new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-pregnancy-morning-sickness-drug.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:20:30 EST news281208023 In a study to be presented on February 15 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that suggest that consistent physical activity and healthier lifestyle changes beginning in a woman's first trimester can prevent excessive weight gain in obese pregnant women (with a Body Mass Index greater than 30), helping to avoid preterm delivery, hypertension and gestational diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-caloric-restriction-weight-gain-complications.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:00:01 EST news279801515 `In a study to be presented on February 14 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in San Francisco, California, researchers will present data showing the effectiveness of preemptive treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum and severe morning sickness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-preemptive-treatment-severe-morning-sickness.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:36:41 EST news279800895 Pregnancies complicated by hyperemesis gravidarum in the second trimester of pregnancy are at a much higher risk of associated placental dysfunction disorders such as placental abruption and small for gestational age babies (SGA), finds a new study published today (30 January) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-hyperemesis-gravidarum-trimester-placental-complications.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:00:02 EST news278677181 Mothers' vitamin D levels at a gestation of 26 weeks or less were positively related to birth weight and head circumference, and, in the first trimester were negatively associated with risk of a baby being born small for gestational age, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-mother-vitamin-d-linked-birth.html Health Mon, 10 Dec 2012 11:56:57 EST news274363008 Buenos Aires approved a law early Friday authorizing unrestricted abortions in cases of rape or when the mother's life is in danger. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-buenos-aires-law-abortions.html Health Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:31:25 EST news268057874 Nearly 5 percent of pregnant women are prescribed drugs to treat high blood pressure, including some drugs that aren't considered safe for mothers or their babies, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-pregnant-women-high-blood-pressure.html Cardiology Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:00:09 EST news266501123 (Medical Xpress) -- A new paper just published in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry uses extensive Freedom of Information Act findings to detail an extremely troubling off-label medical intervention employed in the U.S. on pregnant women to intentionally engineer the development of their fetuses for sex normalization purposes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-dangerous-fetal.html Other Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:48:52 EST news263195324 (Medical Xpress) -- New research by medics at Trinity College Dublin suggests that folic acid plays a vital role in preventing a major birth defect. This is in addition to the established protection against neural birth defect such as spina bifida The findings published in the July 2012 edition of the leading primary care journal, the British Journal of General Practice show that the risk of having Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP) was more than four times higher if mothers had not taken folic acid in the first trimester. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-links-mothers-lack-folic-acid.html Health Thu, 05 Jul 2012 06:12:51 EST news260687519 Even moderate thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy significantly increases the risk of serious complications, underscoring the need for universal screening in the first trimester, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-mild-thyroid-dysfunction-early-pregnancy.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 23 Jun 2012 12:49:42 EST news259674563 (HealthDay) -- Women who'd like to become pregnant -- especially those who are taking medications for chronic conditions -- may need to add something to their to-do list: Plan, plan, plan. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-pregnancy-birth-defects.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:07:59 EST news252936456 (HealthDay) -- A mother's exposure to tobacco smoke during the last three months of pregnancy may increase the risk that her child will develop the allergic skin condition eczema during infancy, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-exposure-late-pregnancy-boost-baby.html Health Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:08:41 EST news250002515 In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that elevated levels of cell-free DNA in the first trimester do not predict the subsequent development of preeclampsia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-elevated-cell-free-dna-trimester-preeclampsia.html Other Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:34:22 EST news248175256 Upon learning they are pregnant, most women dutifully nix the alcohol, sushi and caffeine. But what about antidepressants? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-antidepressants-pregnancy-women-impact-drugs.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:40:01 EST news248090616 First-time first-trimester induced abortion is not associated with an increased risk of readmission to psychiatric facilities among women with a history of a treated mental disorder, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-first-trimester-abortion-psychiatric-readmission.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:07 EST news247756056 Women with high blood pressure (hypertension) in the early stages of pregnancy are more likely to have babies with birth defects, irrespective of commonly prescribed medicines for their condition, finds new research published in the British Medical Journal today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-high-blood-pressure-early-pregnancy.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:30:05 EST news238179015 Pregnant women who are assaulted by an intimate partner are at increased risk of giving birth to infants of reduced weight, according to a population-level analysis of domestic violence supported by the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-violence-pregnancy-linked-birth-weight.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:20:50 EST news234778770 Women undergoing fertility treatment are more likely to give birth to a live baby after ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) if they are younger than 38 and 11 or more eggs have been retrieved from their ovaries in one ovarian stimulation cycle, according to analysis of one of the largest and longest-running ICSI programs at a single fertility clinic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-birth-icsi-trimester-pregnancy-loss.html Medical research Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:20:00 EST news229079990 Prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, especially during the first trimester, is associated with a modest increase the risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder, according to a report published Online First in the Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-prenatal-exposure-antidepressants-modestly-autism.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:00:01 EST news229008883 (Medical Xpress) -- In a paper published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the University of Aberdeen team also found links between the rate an unborn baby grows and its chances of developing eczema and hayfever. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-size-baby-womb-indicator-childhood.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:51:37 EST news228574281 Although some evidence suggests that prevention of vitamin A deficiency among women in developing countries may improve maternal and infant survival, pregnant women in rural Bangladesh who received vitamin A or beta carotene supplementation in a randomized trial did not have a lower rate of all-cause maternal, fetal, or infant death, compared to women who received placebo, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-vitamin-beta-carotene-pregnancy-supplements.html Health Tue, 17 May 2011 16:56:51 EST news224870178