https://medicalxpress.com/pregnancy-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Pregnancy Vanillin, a common flavoring chemical in e-cigarettes, may disrupt the normal development of embryos in pregnant women who vape, according to a study published in Human Reproduction. The finding explains how vaping may be linked to women having difficulty conceiving and to miscarriages. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-vanillin-flavoring-cigarettes-disrupt-human.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:10:01 EDT news705656342 Organs don't just grow in early life; they can change in response to physiological or environmental challenges in adulthood. Researchers have now identified an active role for the intestinal muscles in remodeling the gut after reproduction. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-female-gut-muscles-reshape-demands.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:40:03 EDT news705753421 Advances in genome sequencing are giving more families access to prenatal genetic testing and new information about an unborn baby's health, including whether genetic changes may be linked to a neurodevelopmental condition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-machine-approach-greater-certainty-prenatal.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:20:01 EDT news705743881 For more than 30 years, one piece of pregnancy advice has been remarkably consistent: Take folic acid. The reason is clear. Folic acid, or vitamin B9, can lower the risk of neural tube defects, serious birth defects that happen when the early structure that becomes the brain and spinal cord does not close properly. What has been much less clear is how folic acid works. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-folic-acid-baby-brain-spinal.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:20:05 EDT news705667022 Wildfires are well-known health risks. Now, in a new Frontiers in Environmental Health study, researchers in the U.S. have—for the first time—evaluated how prenatal PM2.5 exposure has changed over space and time on a national scale and what role wildfires play in shaping these trends. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-wildfires-dominant-contributor-unhealthy-air.html Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:01 EDT news705228629 Tiny, near-invisible fragments of plastic shed from the products we use every day through sunlight and mechanical wear have been quietly working their way deep into the human body. Microplastics have already been found in the human brain, semen and even the placenta. A recent study investigated how these micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) might move through the placenta and whether they affect a baby's development. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-microplastics-placenta-barrier-disrupt-key.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:20:04 EDT news705055580 Discovered in 1955, the Oropouche virus has circulated mainly in the Amazon, causing a febrile illness virtually indistinguishable from those caused by dengue, Zika and chikungunya, viruses also transmitted by biting mosquitoes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-zika-oropouche-virus-affect-brains.html Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:20:12 EDT news705064563 A research team from the School of Nursing at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has found that video-call support from trained peer mothers helped first-time mothers breastfeed more successfully. Among mothers who received this support, the study revealed a 42.6% relative increase in the number of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their babies at two months after birth, along with greater confidence in breastfeeding. This is the first-of-its-kind randomized clinical trial in Hong Kong to evaluate video-call-based peer support for breastfeeding and is also one of the first trials globally to rigorously examine the effectiveness of this digital approach in improving breastfeeding outcomes. The research findings were published in JAMA Network Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-video-based-peer-boost-breastfeeding.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:20:04 EDT news704980381 An evidence review of international research suggests widespread misconceptions within the medical community about early milk production, pacifiers and breast pumps may be undermining breastfeeding success in the critical first days after birth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-hours-hospital-routines-undermine-breastfeeding.html Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:10:01 EDT news704619421 Researchers from the Wits Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics (Wits VIDA) Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) have played a leading role in an international phase 1/2 clinical trial demonstrating the safety and immunogenicity of an investigational maternal vaccine against Group B Streptococcus (GBS)—a major cause of life-threatening infections in newborns worldwide. The findings have been published in Nature Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-trial-maternal-vaccine-newborns-group.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:40:01 EDT news704540768 Pregnancy places extra strain on the kidneys, and for women with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease (CKD), around half will experience a decline in kidney function during pregnancy. Despite these risks, outcomes for pregnant women with CKD have changed little over the past 30 years, and many of the treatments used to manage kidney disease are not safe during pregnancy, meaning women often need to stop their medication for at least nine months. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-beetroot-juice-benefit-pregnant-women.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:20:04 EDT news704534282 Prenatal alcohol exposure—a contributor to adverse pregnancy outcomes and the leading preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disability worldwide—has increased in the United States over the past decade. The new paper by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is published in JAMA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-upward-trend-alcohol-pregnancy.html Mon, 27 Jul 2026 11:00:16 EDT news704366411 New research has found that a hormone is responsible for making mothers' interactions with newborns feel rewarding rather than just necessary. The University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka study, published in Science Advances, looked at how a mother's brain changes to help her devote her energy to providing for her infant's needs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-mother-devotion-newborns-brain.html Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:40:03 EDT news704025181