http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The risk of preterm delivery increases with maternal overweight and obesity, according to a new Swedish study published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Women with the highest Body Mass Index (BMI) also had the highest statistical risk of giving preterm birth – and especially extremely preterm birth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-obesity-preterm-delivery.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:34:26 EST news290187259 Overweight and obese women are more likely to require specialist medical care during their pregnancy due to the increased risk of adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes, finds a new study published today (27 March) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-overweight-obese-women-higher-adverse.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:00:03 EST news283541626 Maternal nutrition is important to a developing embryo and to the health of the child later in life. Supplementing the diet with specific vitamins is known to increase health of the foetus for example folic acid (vitamin B9) reduces the risk of spina bifida. However not everything an adult might consume is beneficial to a developing baby. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows that caffeine is linked to low birth weight babies and that caffeine from coffee in linked to increasing length of pregnancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-caffeine-linked-birth-weight-babies.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:00:01 EST news280426349 In a study to be presented on February 14 between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's 33rd annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ™, researchers will report findings that suggest that 17P, a form of progesterone, is not effective in preventing preterm birth among women with twin pregnancies—and may possibly be harmful. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-progesterone-shots-preterm-delivery-twin.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:49:12 EST news279798542 The risk of maternal complications and preterm deliveries is significantly higher for women undergoing their fifth or more caesarean section, finds a new study published today (31 October) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-higher-maternal-complicationspreterm-deliveries-women.html Health Wed, 31 Oct 2012 03:20:01 EST news270871623 Malnutrition is common among HIV-infected pregnant women even when they receive antiretroviral therapy, leading to low birth weight and other health problems in their infants, according to a recent study conducted by a Cornell University faculty member working with the Makerere University-UCSF Research Collaboration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-hiv-infected-women-susceptible-malnutrition-pregnancy.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 10 Sep 2012 07:35:01 EST news266481287 (HealthDay) -- Pregnant women who fast during the month of Ramadan do not have an increased risk of preterm delivery, regardless of when during gestation the fasting occurs, according to research published online July 25 in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-preterm-delivery-ramadan-fasting.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:07:02 EST news263567173 (HealthDay) -- About half of women who experience a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and late-preterm delivery develop a hypertensive disorder in a subsequent pregnancy, although few have delivery before 37 weeks in the subsequent pregnancy, according to a study published in the June issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-recurrent-htn-women-pregnancy.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 18 May 2012 13:20:01 EST news256563853 The introduction of national, comprehensive smoke-free legislation in Scotland is linked with significant falls in preterm delivery and small for dates (gestational age) infants according to a study led by Jill Pell from the University of Glasgow and published in this week's PLoS Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-scotland-linked-fall-preterm-deliveries.html Health Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:00:07 EST news250274254 If you develop pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders or diabetes, you may have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life, according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-pregnancy-related-complications-cvd-middle-age.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:10:45 EST news248713824 Emerging data clarifying the risks of insufficient thyroid activity during pregnancy on the health of the mother and fetus, and on the future intellectual development of the child, have led to new clinical guidelines for diagnosing and managing thyroid disease during this critical period. The guidelines, developed by an American Thyroid Association (ATA) expert task force, are presented in Thyroid. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-effects-hypothyroidism-maternal-fetal-health.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:22:46 EST news230818937 A National Institutes of Health study has found that progesterone, a naturally occurring hormone, reduced the rate of preterm birth before the 33rd week of pregnancy by 45 percent among one category of at risk women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-progesterone-early-preterm-birth-at-risk.html Health Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:38:06 EST news221312270