Health & Baby News & Features

Since the 1980s, the number of multiple births has jumped from roughly 20 sets per 1,000 live births to almost 35 sets per 1,000 live births, a new study has found. A sizable proportion of multiple births are attributable simply to delaying childbearing, the author says.

Among women with elevated blood sugar during pregnancy, nearly 11 percent had type 2 diabetes 10 to 14 years after giving birth, and about 42 percent had pre-diabetes, the findings showed.

In the study, the researchers followed 736 pregnant women in Denmark who took either fish oil or olive oil supplements daily from week 24 of their pregnancy until one week after they gave birth.

The study of more than 220,000 pregnancies from 2009 through 2016 found overall use at 5.3% in the first trimester. That number spiked to 11.3% for pregnant women with severe nausea and vomiting. Just over 8% of the women with mild nausea and vomiting used pot while pregnant.

Researchers tested breast milk samples from 50 women who used marijuana either daily, weekly or occasionally, and detected THC -- the active component of the drug -- in 63 percent of the samples for up to six days after the mother's last reported use.

Even tiny levels of exposure to chlorpyrifos can damage babies' brains, research shows.

Women who chose to have their labor induced were less likely to need a C-section than women who let nature take its course, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine. And there was no evidence labor induction carried any added risks for their babies.

The review of published studies provides important information for pregnant women and their doctors, said lead researcher Jane Warland, an associate professor at the University of South Australia.

Approximately 15 million babies worldwide are born premature each year, according to the March of Dimes. In the United States, almost one in 10 babies is born prematurely, putting them at risk for serious health problems.

Preeclampsia can put both mother and baby at risk, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obesity is a known risk factor for preeclampsia.

The risk of heart attack among pregnant women increased 25 percent between 2002 and 2014, with the rate rising from 7 to 9.5 for every 100,000 pregnancies in the United States, researcher at the New York University School of Medicine say.

Is Depression During Pregnancy on the Rise? By Amy NortonHealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, July 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Today's young mothers-to-be may be more likely to develop depression while pregnant than their own mothers were, a new study suggests.British researchers found that, compared with their mothers' generation, young women who became pregnant between 2012 and 2016 were at greater risk of having "high" scores when they were screened for depression.The reasons are unknown, and more research is needed to understand the pattern, said lead researcher Rebecca Pearson, of the University of Bristol.The findings, published online July 13

U.S. Stance on Breastfeeding Resolution Questioned July 9, 2018 -- Surprise and disappointment continued to register this week over reported U.S. opposition to an international resolution to encourage breastfeeding.This spring at the World Health Organization's World Health Assembly, the U.S. delegation opposed Ecuador’s resolution to encourage breastfeeding and limit marketing claims about breast milk replacements, the New York Times reported Sunday. The U.S. was originally expected to support the movement. But delegates instead threatened retaliatory trade measures on Ecuador if they refused to drop the resolution, according to the report.Module: slideshow “It was very disturbing to see the

Want Good Sleep for Baby? Food May Be Key By Robert Preidt                  HealthDay Reporter         MONDAY, July 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- If there's one thing frazzled new parents crave, it's that their baby sleeps well.Now, research suggests that the odds for good infant slumber rise when solid foods are introduced relatively early.The British findings contradict some long-held guidelines on infant feeding, however, and were met with mixed reviews by experts in the United States.Dr. Michael Grosso directs pediatrics at Northwell Health's Huntington Hospital in Huntington,

Study: Fertility Drugs Don't Raise Ovarian Cancer Risk By Robert Preidt                  HealthDay Reporter         FRIDAY, July 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Fertility drugs do not increase a woman's risk of ovarian cancer, a new study suggests.        It did find that infertility itself is associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer.        The researchers examined data from more than 58,000 women in Denmark who had infertility treatments (ART, or assisted reproduction technology) between 1994 and 2015. The investigators then compared them

Few Frozen Eggs Used For Pregnancies Later By Robert PreidtHealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, July 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Fewer than 10 percent of older women who freeze some of their eggs as insurance against age-related declines in fertility eventually use them to try to get pregnant, new research shows.The study included 563 women who had eggs frozen between 2009 and 2017 at a large European fertility center. On average, the women were 36 years old.Only 7.6 percent of those women have returned to thaw their eggs and try to get pregnant, according to the study. Of those,

Added Folate May Have Helped Cut Kids' Psychosis By Alan MozesHealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, July 3, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Investigators say they've found an unanticipated but welcome twist in a decades-long effort to reduce birth defects by boosting folate levels among pregnant women.Beyond protecting against serious defects such as spina bifida, fortifying the grain supply with folic acid may also enhance fetal brain development and lower the long-term risk for developing psychosis, a new study suggests.Psychosis is typically characterized by paranoia, social withdrawal and hallucinations."Folate is a B vitamin that is important for a host of biochemical

Preeclampsia Can Mean Higher Heart Risks Later By Serena GordonHealthDay Reporter MONDAY, July 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have high blood pressure or preeclampsia during pregnancy might be more prone to developing hypertension, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol afterwards, new research suggests.The emergence of these heart disease risk factors soon after pregnancy may help explain why these women have an increased risk of heart attack and stroke later in life."Many researchers think that pregnancy acts as a [heart disease] stress test and that it helps to identify women who are predisposed to developing high

Each year, about 70,000 women worldwide die due to severe bleeding after childbirth, which also increases the risk of babies dying in their first month of life. Currently, the WHO recommends an injection of oxytocin be offered to all women giving birth vaginally.

Taking vitamin D supplements does not reduce the risk of pregnancy-related high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia, a new study finds.

Quake's team found that, in women at increased risk of preterm delivery, the blood test predicted premature labor with 75 to 80 percent accuracy. According to Quake, that level of accuracy is good enough to be used in routine practice -- but more work is needed to see whether that performance holds up in larger studies.

Each year, about one million women in the United States have miscarriages, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. In the final part of a miscarriage, the body should expel the pregnancy tissue. However, sometimes this does not occur and the patient is given the drug misoprostol.

For the study, the researchers examined the vitamin D levels of 1,200 women with a history of miscarriage before they got pregnant again. Their vitamin D levels were also tested when they were eight weeks' pregnant.

The most significant improvement occurred in the ring closest to the plant -- within 3 miles, the researchers said.

Nearly 16 percent of women smoke tobacco during pregnancy, according to the researchers. Up to 30 percent of them also use marijuana