Childhood lead exposure causes permanent brain damage – A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate brain function revealed that adults who were exposed to lead as children incur permanent brain injury. The results were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Ultrasound enhances noninvasive Down syndrome tests – The addition of a “genetic sonogram” maximizes the accuracy of non-invasive testing for Down syndrome, revealed by US researchers.
Exposure to lead, tobacco smoke raises risk of ADHD – Children exposed prenatally to tobacco smoke and during childhood to lead face a particularly high risk for ADHD, revealed by researchers.
There is good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. – Pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean deliveries and babies with a poor prenatal growth rate than women who do not have multiple sclerosis (MS), revealed by US researchers.
Diabetes gene raises odds of lower birth weight – Gene previously shown to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes also predisposes children to having a lower birth weight, revealed by researchers.
Multivitamins in pregnancy reduce risk of low birth weights – Prenatal multivitamin supplements are associated with a significantly reduced risk of babies with a low birth weight (underweight babies) compared with prenatal iron-folic acid supplementation, found a new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).
Study suggests obese women should not gain weight. Findings challenge American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. – For years, doctors and other health-care providers have managed pregnant patients according to guidelines issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
Report updates guidelines on how much weight women should gain during pregnancy – Calls on health care providers to help women achieve a healthy weight before and during pregnancy. – A growing amount of scientific evidence indicates that how much weight women gain during pregnancy and their starting weight at conception can affect their health and that of their babies, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.
Low levels of vitamin D linked to common vaginal infection in pregnant women – Findings may explain higher rates of infection among African-Americans. – Pregnant women with low levels of vitamin D may be more likely to suffer from bacterial vaginosis (BV) ? a common vaginal infection that increases a woman’s risk for preterm delivery, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.
2 studies: The first finds twins born after fertility treatment have a higher risk of problems. A second study study finds reassuring evidence on the outcome of children born after embryo freezing. – Twins born as a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are more likely to be admitted to neonatal intensive care and to be hospitalised in their first three years of life than spontaneously conceived twins, according to new research in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction.
