Study suggests transfer of poor health from mother to child in India. Maternal height associatied with child mortality, growth failure. – Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found a link between a mother’s height and the health of her children in a study using national data from India.
Exposure to epilepsy medicine valproate during pregnancy can impair a child’s cognitive development and IQ. – Three-year-olds whose mothers took the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy had average IQs six to nine points lower than children exposed to three other antiepileptic drugs, a landmark multi-center study has found.
Pollution is another risk factor for impaired fetal growth – Exposure to traffic pollution could affect fetal development during pregnancy and lead to an increased chance of having a small baby.
Babies born to women with anxiety or depression are more likely to sleep poorly – Babies are more likely to have night wakings at both 6 months and 12 months of age if they are born to women who suffered from anxiety or depression prior to the pregnancy.
Pregnant women who smoke, urged to give up before 15-week ‘deadline’. Spontaneous preterm birth and small for gestational age infants in women who cease smoking in early pregnancy: A prospective cohort study. – Women who stop smoking before week 15 of pregnancy cut their risk of spontaneous premature birth and having small babies to the same as non-smokers, according to research published on bmj.com today.
High prevalence of child marriage in India fuels fertility risks. – Despite India’s economic and educational reform efforts in the last decade, the prevalence of child marriage remains high, fueling the risks of multiple unwanted pregnancies, pregnancy terminations and female sterilizations.
Red wine vs. white? It makes no difference when it comes to breast-cancer risk – The largest study of its kind to evaluate the effect of red versus white wine on breast-cancer risk concludes that both are equal offenders when it comes to increasing breast-cancer risk.
Low levels of vitamin B12 may increase risk for neural tube defects; Vegans, vegetarians may be at risk. – Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland.
Research suggests pollution-related asthma may start in the womb – Children born in areas with increased traffic-related pollution may be at greater risk of developing asthma due to genetic changes acquired in the womb, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Home pregnancy tests can lead to better prenatal care, revealed by researchers. – The simple intervention of providing women who are having unprotected sex with a home pregnancy test could have a substantial impact on the health of potential newborns, according to a Michigan State University study.
Maternal obesity is associated with an increased risk of a range of structural anomalies, although the absolute increase is likely to be small. – For women who are obese during pregnancy there is an associated increased risk of certain birth defects, such as spina bifida and neural tube defects, although the absolute increase in risk is likely to be small.
No convincing association is found between use of fertility drugs and risk of ovarian cancer, according to a new study. – The use of fertility drugs does not increase a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer, finds a large study from Danish researchers published on bmj.com.
