Infant's Health News

April 19, 2024

Top Headlines

Teen Stress May Raise Risk of Postpartum Depression in Adults

Apr. 16, 2024 — A research team reports that social stress during adolescence in female mice later results in prolonged elevation of the hormone cortisol after they give ...

AI Powered 'Digital Twin' Models the Infant Microbiome

Apr. 10, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that models the infant microbiome. This 'digital twin' of the infant microbiome creates a virtual model that predicts the changing dynamics of microbial species in the ...

More Premature Babies Born Following Swedish Parental Leave Policy

Apr. 8, 2024 — The introduction of a policy protecting parental leave benefits in Sweden in 1980 had unintended consequences on child health. The policy appears to have led to an increase in premature birth ...

Even Moderate Alcohol Usage During Pregnancy Linked to Birth Abnormalities

Apr. 2, 2024 — Researchers have found that even low to moderate alcohol use by pregnant patients may contribute to subtle changes in their babies' prenatal development, including lower birth length and a shorter duration of ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:44pm EDT

Landmark Study Involving Babies in Ireland Supports Use of Cystic Fibrosis Drug in Infants from Four Weeks of Age

Apr. 11, 2024 — A Cystic Fibrosis drug targeting the basic defect that causes the condition has been shown to be safe and effective in newborns aged four weeks and ...

Women With Obesity Do Not Need to Gain Weight During Pregnancy, New Study Suggests

Mar. 28, 2024 — The guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy in obese women have long been questioned. New research supports the idea of lowering or removing the ...

Infant Gut Microbes Have Their Own Circadian Rhythm, and Diet Has Little Impact on How the Microbiome Assembles

Apr. 2, 2024 — Infant gut microbiomes oscillate with a circadian rhythm, even when they are cultivated outside of the body. Researchers report that the rhythm is ...

Researchers Propose a New Way to Identify When Babies Become Conscious

Mar. 22, 2024 — Academics are proposing a new and improved way to help researchers discover when consciousness emerges in human ...

Multiple Unsafe Sleep Practices Found in Most Sudden Infant Deaths

Mar. 22, 2024 — More than three-quarters of Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths analyzed in a new study featured multiple unsafe sleep practices. The researchers are urging care providers to take a more active role in ...

Five Factors to Ensure an Infant Thrives

Mar. 18, 2024 — Researchers make the case that five 'Thrive Factors' are a key element of healthy human brain, behavioral and cognitive ...

Study Eases Concern at Antipsychotics Use in Pregnancy

Mar. 18, 2024 — The use of antipsychotics during pregnancy isn't linked to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders or learning difficulties, study suggests -- giving assurance to those concerned about continuing ...

Gut Bacteria Make Neurotransmitters to Shape the Newborn Immune System

Mar. 15, 2024 — Investigators discovered that unique bacteria colonize the gut shortly after birth and make the neurotransmitter serotonin to educate gut immune cells. This prevents allergic reactions to food and ...

Why Some Newborns Develop Severe Infections

Mar. 15, 2024 — A serious immune deficiency in newborns may originate from a system that protects the fetus in utero but lingers too long after ...

Artificial Intelligence Detects Heart Defects in Newborns

Mar. 13, 2024 — Researchers have developed an algorithm that provides an automatic and reliable method of detecting a certain heart defect in ...

Curbing Coal-Burning Emissions Translates to Health Gains for Children

Mar. 13, 2024 — Research finds a nearly 40% decline in the annual average concentration of respirable particulate matter (PM2.5) in Krakow, Poland, between 2010 and 2019 following the implementation of clean air ...

Climate Policies to Reduce Motor Vehicle Emissions Can Improve Children's Health, Save Money

Mar. 12, 2024 — A new study finds that policies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motor vehicles combined with investments in electric vehicles and public transportation would reduce air pollution and ...

Adding Folic Acid to Table Salt Could Prevent Life-Threatening Birth Defects

Mar. 11, 2024 — A team of international researchers has demonstrated, for the first time in a field study, that using folic acid-fortified iodized table salt can prevent multiple severe birth ...

COVID Vaccines Are Safe for Pregnant Women and Babies, Study Finds

Mar. 7, 2024 — The COVID vaccine is safe to administer during pregnancy, researchers report in an important finding on the safety of the vaccine in infants -- despite widespread fear and ...

Infant Health Suffered During Baby Formula Shortage

Mar. 7, 2024 — A survey by UC Davis researchers shows the U.S. baby formula shortage in 2022 led 81% of parents to switch brands or types, causing health effects for ...

Children Surpass a Year of HIV Remission After Treatment Pause

Mar. 7, 2024 — Four children have remained free of detectable HIV for more than one year after their antiretroviral therapy (ART) was paused to see if they could achieve HIV remission, according to new research. ...

Psychosocial Stressors Linked to Higher Inflammation in Black Pregnant Women

Mar. 6, 2024 — Living in neighborhoods with more white residents and greater lifetime experiences of racial discrimination are linked to increased systemic inflammation during pregnancy among Black women, according ...

Breastfeeding After COVID-19 Booster Can Give Babies Antibodies

Mar. 4, 2024 — A recently published study that shows lactating mothers who get the COVID-19 booster pass along the antibodies to their children via their breast milk -- and potentially protect babies too young to ...

Zika Vaccine Safe, Effective When Administered During Pregnancy

Mar. 4, 2024 — A vaccine against Zika virus is safe and effective when administered both before and during pregnancy, according to new ...

A Better Way to Deliver Fetal Therapy for Serious Genetic Disorders

Mar. 4, 2024 — In a discovery that opens the door to a less invasive way of treating some serious disorders before birth, UC San Francisco scientists have found that delivering medicine through amniotic fluid is as ...

A Landmark Study Maps the Precise Orchestration of Prenatal Development

Feb. 29, 2024 — Researchers have characterized, in exacting detail, the rapid series of events that transform a single fertilized cell into a living, complex being. The work not only has enabled the team to explore ...

Uptick in Behavioral Disorders Reported in Children Following Prenatal Exposure to Anesthesia

Feb. 29, 2024 — Children prenatally exposed to anesthesia for maternal surgery during pregnancy were significantly more likely than unexposed children to receive a diagnosis of a disruptive or internalizing ...

Lockdowns Had an Impact on Gut Microbes and Allergies in Newborns, New Research Reveals

Feb. 29, 2024 — Lockdowns imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the gut microbiome development of babies born during these periods according to new research. Our gut microbiome, an ecosystem of ...

Intervention Reduces Likelihood of Developing Postpartum Anxiety and Depression by More Than 70%

Feb. 26, 2024 — Results from a large clinical trial show that an intervention for anxiety provided to pregnant women living in Pakistan significantly reduced the likelihood of the women developing moderate-to-severe ...

Study of 1.2+M Births Reveals Associations Between Excess Heat Exposure and Preterm Births

Feb. 26, 2024 — In the face of increasing temperatures globally, a new study of 1.2 million births over two decades has shown a strong association between the risk of pre-term birth and exposure to extreme hot ...

Babies Use Immune System Differently, but Efficiently

Feb. 25, 2024 — Scientists have long believed that a newborn's immune system was an immature version of an adult's, but new research shows that newborns' T cells -- white blood cells that protect from ...

New Insight Into Gene Uncovers Its Link to Incurable Birth Defect

Feb. 22, 2024 — Researchers have unraveled how mutations in a gene can lead to an incurable neurodevelopmental disorder that causes abnormal brain development in newborns and ...

Stress During Pregnancy Can Lead to Early Maturation of First-Born Daughters

Feb. 20, 2024 — Researchers have found a correlation between early signs of adrenal puberty in first-born daughters and their mothers' having experienced high levels of prenatal stress. They did not find the ...

Significantly Fewer Births on Weekends and Holidays Than Weekdays, Data Analysis of Over 21 Million Births from 1979-2018 in Japan Shows

Feb. 14, 2024 — Significantly more babies were born on a weekday instead of weekend day or holiday, reveals a large-scale analysis of 21 million births in Japan over almost four ...

COVID-19 Vaccination and Boosting During Pregnancy Protects Infants for Six Months, Study Finds

Feb. 14, 2024 — Women who receive an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination or booster during pregnancy can provide their infants with strong protection against symptomatic COVID-19 infection for at least six months after ...