http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Over the past two decades, the frozen preservation of embryos has become routine practice in IVF. What currently happens to embryos next is controlled by overlapping and complicated rules that confuse and disempower IVF users. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-frozen-laws-ivf-embryo-destruction.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 13 May 2013 08:30:08 EST news287651185 There is wide variation in the rate of cesarean sections performed at different hospitals across the U.S. and one explanation has been that hospitals with higher c-section rates serve greater numbers of women at high risk for the procedure. Now, a new study by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health provides the strongest evidence to date that it's not just medical need that determines who has c-sections, but also something at the hospital level—in other words, the same woman would have a different chance of undergoing a c-section based on the hospital she chooses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-pregnant-women-likelihood-cesarean-delivery.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:00:02 EST news282829102 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 findings showing perinatal outcomes of frozen/thawed embryo replacement (FER) have better outcomes compared to fresh in vitro fertilization (IVF), but worse outcomes compared to the non-IVF general population. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-outcome-frozen-embryo-ivf.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:37:49 EST news279801457 The number of congenital anomalies, or birth defects arising from multiple births has almost doubled since the 1980s, suggests a new study published today (6 February) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-multiple-births-affected-congenital-anomalies.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:00:05 EST news279307146 Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, is proud to announce the release of biological and clinical data from 383 new families participating in Autism Speaks Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) to researchers. AGRE is a resource for scientists that is comprised of clinical and biological data from families who have two or more children on the autism spectrum. These 383 families are part of a larger pool of 653 individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) bringing the total data available on people with an ASD to 3348. The family data also includes family members without an ASD bringing the total to 9335 individuals, which reflects an over 24 percent increase. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-autism-genetic.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:20:20 EST news271603179 One of the largest studies to look at the effect of induced abortions on a subsequent first birth has found that women who have had three or more abortions have a higher risk of some adverse birth outcomes, such as delivering a baby prematurely and with a low birth weight. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-prematurity-birth-weight-babies-born.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 29 Aug 2012 19:00:10 EST news265479876 In a large epidemiologic study, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center found that the children of U.S.-born Latina women are at higher risk of having retinoblastoma, a malignant tumor of the retina which typically occurs in children under six. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-us-born-latinas-great-babies-retinoblastoma.html Cancer Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:26:05 EST news263485549 Among women with gestational diabetes mellitus, referral to a telephone-based nurse management program was associated with lower risk of high baby birth weight and increased postpartum glucose testing, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-contact-nurses-linked-outcomes-women.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 25 May 2012 10:04:37 EST news257159054 Peripartum cardiomyopathy, a form of heart failure that by definition develops late in pregnancy or shortly after delivery, results in a frightening turn of events that can leave new mothers suffering from a lifelong chronic heart condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-scientists-uncover-important-clues-peripartum.html Cardiology Wed, 09 May 2012 13:00:31 EST news255778602 Women having children at older ages and the growing availability of fertility treatments has led to a marked increase in the birth of twins: In 2009, one in every 30 babies born in the United States was a twin compared with one in every 53 in 1980. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-babies-born-twin.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:26:25 EST news252602778 Scientists at University College Dublin have discovered a new way of measuring the potential success rate of an embryo before it is transferred back into the womb during in vitro fertilisation (IVF). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-successful-ivf-embryos-scientists.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:10:14 EST news249732608 A new study of fertility treatment found that women who get three or more embryos have no better odds of having a baby than those who get just two embryos. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-odds-embryos-ivf.html Other Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:40:02 EST news245560990 A new technique successfully used in mice to identify embryos likely to result in a successful pregnancy could be used in humans, potentially boosting IVF success rates and helping to reduce the number of multiple births (1), according to Cardiff University scientists. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-technique-boost-ivf-success-multiple.html Other Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:00:41 EST news244810836 A University of Birmingham fetal medicine expert has helped to shape new advice from NICE on antenatal care for women pregnant with twins or triplets. Professor Mark Kilby says the new guideline, published today (September 28), charts the way forward for managing multiple pregnancy in the NHS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-nice-guideline-antenatal-women-pregnant.html Health Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:18:45 EST news236427518 Elsevier announced the publication of several commentaries in the scientific journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online on the subject of how many embryos it is safe and proper to place in a uterus, and how best to regulate this decision. It is a dilemma faced by all patients anxiously caught between no pregnancies at all or facing the prospect of twins or triplets. In this difficult place it is often all too easy to think that the latter option must be the best. But is it? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-ivf-treatment-multiple-births-free-market.html Other Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:39:23 EST news230895542 (Medical Xpress) -- In a new study published in Pediatrics, researchers reveal that in addition to possible genetic vulnerability and environmental factors, certain perinatal and neonatal conditions show as increased risk in the later development of autism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-conglomeration-perinatal-neonatal-conditions-autism.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:20:01 EST news229840951 With 3,284 cycles using frozen eggs, Italy is the leader in Europe, the 27th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-european-ivf-group-frozen-eggs.html Medical research Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:15:53 EST news229140937 Imagine babies so tiny a wedding ring can fit around their arms. Often weighing less than a pound, these remarkably small and sick infants hold onto life hooked up to a maze of tubes and beeping monitors. Although no parent ever prepares for the high-tech environment of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the reality is more than 500,000 babies are born prematurely each year in the United States. This number continues to rise due in part to older women having babies and the increase in multiple births. To prepare parents, UC San Diego Health System provides one-of-a-kind programs to help relieve stress and anxiety during this vulnerable time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-neonatal-intensive-parents.html Other Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:13:54 EST news223028011 The number of couples struggling with infertility is on the rise, and these couples often use assisted reproductive technologies, like in vitro fertilization (IVF), to get pregnant. Although IVF can be successful, it can also increase the risk of multiple pregnancies (i.e., twins or triplets), which are often caused by transferring more than one embryo. Twins and triplets are likely to be born prematurely, and, as a result, many have medical complications. A new study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics finds a major decrease in risk, as well as cost, if single embryo transfers are mandated for IVF. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-stronger-vitro-fertilization.html Health Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:16:10 EST news221973284