https://medicalxpress.com/pregnancy-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Pregnancy From 2021 to 2024, 15.2% of U.S. pregnant women reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, according to research published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-percent-pregnant-women-days.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 21:20:04 EDT news700906052 In one of the largest studies of chemical exposures during pregnancy to date, new research led by the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Stanford University School of Medicine and Woods Institute for the Environment has found that pregnant women are exposed to dozens of everyday chemicals, many of which can affect how early a child is born or a child's weight at birth. These outcomes influence a child's health throughout life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-everyday-chemical-exposures-linked-preterm.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:00:20 EDT news700820101 Fetal growth restriction may affect babies' heart rate, pain response, brain structure, growth and early development long after birth, according to a new study led by UCL and King's College London researchers. For the first time, a study has tracked the growth of babies diagnosed with fetal growth restriction from 14 weeks' gestation to 6 years of age. The authors of the new Scientific Reports paper found that differences experienced in utero, such as higher heart rate and lower weight, can persist after birth and cause compounding disadvantages into early childhood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-babies-fetal-growth-restriction-years.html Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:00:03 EDT news700831443 New research has found signs that may help researchers better understand why some babies are born early. Some signs are present as early as the first trimester. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-molecular-clues-maternal-blood-preterm.html Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:20:01 EDT news700846321 Infant mortality in the U.S. dropped to a new all-time low in 2025, according to preliminary government data. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-infant-mortality-fell-trails-similar.html Tue, 16 Jun 2026 16:20:10 EDT news700845507 Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) affects approximately 0.2–2% of pregnant women and typically develops after 30 weeks of gestation. As the most common symptom is severe itching of the palms and the soles of the feet, the condition can often be identified during routine prenatal care. The diagnosis is confirmed by elevated liver enzyme levels and increased concentrations of bile acids in the blood. Although the condition usually resolves after delivery, it is associated with an increased risk of complications, including preterm birth and stillbirth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-large-scale-genetic-uncovers-factors.html Tue, 16 Jun 2026 16:20:08 EDT news700843921 Exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in many weedkillers, was linked to changes in several hormones that support pregnancy and fetal development—in one of the few studies to examine how a widely used herbicide may affect the body during pregnancy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-common-weed-killer-affect-hormones.html Tue, 16 Jun 2026 07:00:06 EDT news700803481 The accumulation of excess fat in the liver is not solely a consequence of the combined effects of hereditary and adult lifestyle-related factors. A new study by researchers at Tampere University and the University of Eastern Finland indicates that both maternal health during pregnancy and early-life nutrition may have long-term implications for children's liver health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-prenatal-health-early-diet-fatty.html Sat, 13 Jun 2026 18:30:01 EDT news700232169 While noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has revolutionized prenatal diagnostics by allowing the detection of a number of genetic problems in a fetus, it is currently limited and thus misses many genetic causes of abnormalities. But a new technique, to be presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics, introduces a technology called noninvasive fetal sequencing (NIFS) that will simultaneously screen almost 23,000 genes, as well as all of the conditions currently captured by NIPT, in pregnancies both with and without a previously detected fetal anomaly. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-results-invasive-prenatal-methods-safety.html Fri, 12 Jun 2026 18:10:02 EDT news700480621 A new study shows how social media can be an important weapon in combating perinatal depression and anxiety in rural areas if it is carefully designed and misinformation is rooted out. James Cook University Senior Research Fellow Dr. Sam Teague and student researcher Kacey Lynch led the study, which has been published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-social-media-perinatal-mental.html Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:20:01 EDT news700463702 Moderate exposure to cold and heat during early pregnancy may affect fetal development as early as the first trimester, according to a new study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a center supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation. The findings, based on two Dutch birth cohorts and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, suggest that early gestational development may be sensitive to ambient temperature, with potential implications for birth outcomes and long-term health as climate conditions continue to change. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-early-pregnancy-exposure-cold-linked.html Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:20:05 EDT news700402728 A prominent OB-GYN group announced vaccine recommendations on Wednesday that differ from what the U.S. government advises. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-ob-gyn-group-vaccine.html Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:40:03 EDT news700370603 Gestational diabetes is most commonly associated with temporary disturbances in glucose metabolism during pregnancy. However, growing evidence shows that its consequences may extend far beyond pregnancy itself—affecting a child's health even before birth and increasing the risk of obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes later in life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-gestational-diabetes-affect-child-health.html Thu, 11 Jun 2026 03:24:59 EDT news700367017 Women who engage in light physical activity and lessen their sedentary time may significantly reduce the risk of key health problems during pregnancy, according to a new University of Iowa-led study. The paper, "Optimal 24-hour movement behaviour compositions across trimesters and risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: the Pregnancy 24/7 cohort study," is published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-pregnant-women-key-health.html Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:30:01 EDT news700241222 A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that pregnant women's expectations about postpartum sleep predicted their actual sleep quality after delivery, outweighing prior sleep and psychiatric history. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-poor-worse-postpartum-quality.html Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:00:12 EDT news700314061 A new study from UTHealth Houston has found that the common sexually transmitted infection Mycoplasma genitalium, also known as MGen, does not appear to increase the risk of recurrent preterm birth. The findings are published in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-common-infection-recurrent-preterm-birth.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 22:00:03 EDT news700242061 Having a baby in the United States is about to get more complicated. Under new billing codes that take effect in January, doctors who manage maternity care will start charging à la carte for visits and services related to pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care. It's an about-face from recent years, when doctors have often received a single "bundled" payment for maternity care they provided. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-upcoming-billing-pregnancy-pricier.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:00:01 EDT news700132081 A target trial emulation estimated the risks associated with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) exposure in early pregnancy. The findings did not indicate a substantially increased risk for nonlive birth, abnormal fetal growth, or major congenital malformation with continuation of GLP-1RAs into the first trimester. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-trial-major-adverse-outcomes-early.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:00:09 EDT news700132461 In May 2026, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration filed suit against Character Technologies Inc., the company behind the popular chatbot platform Character.AI. A state investigation found that a chatbot character named "Emilie" claimed to have a medical degree, seven years of practice and a Pennsylvania medical license—and was providing users with a fabricated license number. As of April 17, 2026, the chatbot had accumulated approximately 45,500 user interactions on the platform. The suit was filed by Pennsylvania's State Board of Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-pennsylvania-ai-chatbot-lawsuit-psychology.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:40:01 EDT news700140542 The TORCH complex is a group of pathogens that can cause infections with mild or silent symptoms in an expecting mother, but in a developing fetus can lead to serious complications that include stillbirth, lifelong disability, or birth defects. Researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, recently assessed long-term trends in TORCH infections in a region where reliable data have been lacking. TORCH includes pathogens that cause toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus and other infections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-highlights-maternal-fetal-torch-infection.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:00:06 EDT news699883458 A suburban Chicago woman who feared she might never have another child is now celebrating a growing family after brain surgery at Northwestern Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-brain-surgery-pituitary-tumor-illinois.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 21:40:02 EDT news699881442 Mounting evidence links extreme heat to preterm (often called premature) birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth, indicating that rising temperatures are contributing to worse health outcomes for pregnant people and newborns. Preterm birth is already a leading cause of infant illness and death worldwide, with an estimated 12 to 15 million babies born too early each year, meaning even modest increases in heat-related risk could have substantial global consequences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-dose-aspirin-offset-premature-birth.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:00:04 EDT news699878701 A study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC published in JAMA Network Open, found that vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during pregnancy reduced the risk of hospitalization in young infants by nearly 70%. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-maternal-rsv-vaccine-infant-hospitalizations.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:00:08 EDT news699784921 When a person goes through a traumatic experience, they often find themselves thinking that what happened could have been different or even avoided. This process, known as counterfactual thinking, is an automatic psychological response to adverse events. Now, a study published in the journal Scientific Reports explores how this type of thinking affects women who have suffered an early pregnancy loss. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-early-pregnancy-loss-affects-week.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:00:01 EDT news699790561 Becoming a mother changes the brain not just temporarily, but for life. Pregnancy and the postpartum period trigger lasting changes in the maternal brain through the brain chemical dopamine, producing long-term benefits to learning, memory, and maternal behavior, a process disrupted by chronic postpartum stress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-motherhood-lifelong-brain-dopamine-linked.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:40:06 EDT news699787921 Postpartum and perinatal depression are known challenges for those going through pregnancy, but there has been less focus on the more prevalent disorder of anxiety. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-anxiety-pregnancy-priority.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:20:01 EDT news699707941 Researchers at Umeå University have shown in a new study that the environment in the womb can leave lasting imprints on the immune system and influence the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes, even when the genetic background is the same. The findings refine our understanding of how genetic and early environmental factors interact in autoimmune diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-fetal-environment-diabetes.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:00:01 EDT news699706961 Parents know how easily coughs, colds and other infections can move through a household after a child picks up a bug at childcare or school. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-babies-older-siblings-higher-infection.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:40:04 EDT news699699542 Acetaminophen remains the recommended first-line medication to treat pain and fever during pregnancy, according to an updated statement from the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM). A comprehensive review of the available scientific evidence does not establish a causal relationship between acetaminophen taken during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, according to SMFM. The work is published in the journal Pregnancy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-acetaminophen-reaffirmed-line-medication-pain.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:30:01 EDT news699634981 Pressure on women from antenatal classes, social media and health care professionals to have a natural birth is causing lasting psychological harm when it does not go to plan, new research shows. The University of Reading study found that the messages women receive during pregnancy are directly linked to the shame and self-blame many feel when those expectations are not met. For the first time, the research provides an explanation for why unmet birth expectations contribute to psychological harm. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-natural-birth-pressure-mothers-mental.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:20:05 EDT news699541502