Pregnancy and Childbirth News

May 1, 2025

Top Headlines

Data Collection Changes Key to Understanding Maternal Mortality Trends in the US, New Study Shows

Apr. 28, 2025 — A new study offers fresh insight into trends in maternal mortality in the United States. For the first time, the study disentangles genuine changes in health outcomes from shifts caused by how deaths ...

Chimpanzee Stem Cells Offer New Insights Into Early Embryonic Development

Apr. 25, 2025 — Chimpanzee naive pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) can now be grown in cellular cultures, reveals a recent study. They successfully created chimpanzee early embryo models, called 'blastoids,' and found that the inhibition of a specific regulatory gene ...

How DNA Self-Organizes in the Early Embryo

Apr. 23, 2025 — An international research team has provided a detailed insight into how the spatial organization of genetic material is established in the cell nucleus of early embryos within the first hours after fertilization. Surprisingly, embryos demonstrate a ...

Newborns Living Near Trees Tend to Be Healthier: New Data Suggests It's Not Because Healthier People Reside Near Parks

Apr. 23, 2025 — The link between proximity to greenspace -- including trees and parks-- and healthy birth outcomes is well established. Now new data adds to our understanding of these health benefits, accounting for ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:14pm EDT

Guinea Pigs: Promising Animal Model to Study the Human Embryo

Apr. 10, 2025 — Researchers reveal that the guinea pig pre-implantation embryo is very similar to the human embryo, spurring a better understanding of infertility and early human ...

Gestational Diabetes Linked to ADHD in Children

Apr. 14, 2025 — A new study has found children born to mothers who experienced gestational diabetes (GDM) during pregnancy are more likely to develop attention-deficient hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and externalizing ...

A Mysterious Pathogen: Oropouche Virus More Common in Latin America Than Previously Thought

Apr. 14, 2025 — Like the dengue and Zika viruses, Oropouche virus causes a febrile illness. There are recent indications that infections during pregnancy can cause ...

Protein Necessary for Fruit Fly Fertility

Apr. 9, 2025 — Researchers have found a new role for the transcription factor (proteins that regulate the transcription, or copying, of genes). In the fruit fly, this transcription factor, named Traffic Jam, ...

Researchers Identify Growing List of Genetic Disorders Treatable Before or Immediately After Birth

Apr. 9, 2025 — Researchers have identified nearly 300 genetic disorders that can be treated before or immediately after a baby is born. This 'treatable fetal ...

An Immune Cell May Explain How Maternal Inflammation Causes Neurodevelopmental Disorder

Apr. 1, 2025 — A research group has uncovered a potential mechanism linking maternal inflammation to delayed neurodevelopment in infants. The research suggests the ...

New Brain Organoid Model

Apr. 2, 2025 — Organoids have revolutionized science and medicine, providing platforms for disease modeling, drug testing, and understanding developmental processes. While not exact replicas of human organs, they ...

Using Everyday Products During Pregnancy Can Affect Newborn's Metabolism, Study Finds

Apr. 2, 2025 — A newly published study found that a mother's exposure to phthalates during pregnancy can affect their newborn's metabolism and brain development. ...

'Is That My Career Over?': Reflections of Elite Athletes During Pregnancy

Apr. 2, 2025 — Elite athletes have shared their worries about their sports career after ...

Postpartum Female Preference for Cooler Temperatures Linked to Brain Changes

Mar. 25, 2025 — Mothers experience major metabolic adaptations during pregnancy and lactation to support the development and growth of the new life. Although many ...

New IVF Method Mimics Fallopian Tube Environment, Increasing Sperm Viability

Mar. 24, 2025 — The success of in vitro fertilization depends on many factors, one of which is sperm viability. A recent study documents a new way to select viable sperm and prolong their viability in the ...

Scientists Use Cellular Programming to Mimic First Days of Embryonic Development

Mar. 20, 2025 — Using CRISPR-based engineering methods to prompt stem cells to organize into embryo-like structures, scientists were able to create 'programmable' cellular models of embryos without ever ...

Pregnancy Irreversibly Remodels the Mouse Intestine

Mar. 19, 2025 — Researchers have found that the small intestine grows in response to pregnancy in mice. This partially irreversible change may help mice support a pregnancy and prepare for a ...

Blood Pressure Patterns During Pregnancy Predict Later Hypertension Risk, Study Finds

Mar. 18, 2025 — Women with blood pressure levels in a range considered clinically normal during pregnancy but no mid-pregnancy drop in blood pressure face an increased risk of developing hypertension in the five ...

Embryo Development Holds Key to Healthy Lifestyles

Mar. 18, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that the earliest days of embryo development have a measurable impact on a person's future health and ...

Tunnel-Building Virus: How Zika Transmits from Mother to Fetus

Mar. 17, 2025 — The Zika virus builds tiny tunnels, called tunneling nanotubes, to stealthily transport material needed to infect nearby cells, including in placental cells, according to a team of researchers from ...

Oxytocin System of Breastfeeding Affected in Mothers With Postnatal Depression

Mar. 14, 2025 — The oxytocin system -- which helps release breast milk and strengthens the bond between mother and baby -- may be affected during breastfeeding in mothers experiencing postnatal ...

Mother's High-Fat Diet Can Cause Liver Stress in Fetus

Mar. 13, 2025 — When mothers eat a diet high in fat and sugars, their unborn babies can develop liver stress that continues into early life. A new study sheds light on changes to the fetus's bile acid, which ...

Study Pinpoints the Impact of Prenatal Stress Across 27 Weeks of Pregnancy

Mar. 10, 2025 — Researchers found new insights on the timing of prenatal stress and its effect on infant stress reactivity and temperament -- including differences between ...

Levels of Select Vitamins and Minerals in Pregnancy May Be Linked to Lower Midlife BP Risk

Mar. 9, 2025 — Higher levels of the minerals copper and manganese in pregnant women were associated with lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of developing high blood pressure decades later, according to a ...

Findings May Advance Understanding of Infertility in Mothers

Mar. 5, 2025 — Oxytocin, a hormone already known for its role in childbirth, milk release, and mother-infant bonding, may have a newfound purpose in mammalian reproduction. In times of maternal stress, the hormone ...

Prenatal Maternal Stressors Linked to Higher Blood Pressure During First Year After Birth, Study Shows

Mar. 4, 2025 — Psychosocial stress during pregnancy could lead to higher blood pressure during the first year postpartum according to new ...

Uncovering the Protein Complex Critical to Male Fertility

Mar. 3, 2025 — Researchers found that TEX38 and ZDHHC19 co-localize on the plasma membrane of spermatids and mediate S-palmitoylation of ARRDC5, a crucial protein for spermatogenesis. Disrupting either TEX38 or ...

Naturally Occurring Mechanism Hampers Fertility

Mar. 3, 2025 — A research team has uncovered how a naturally occurring biological mechanism found in mammals is able to prevent sperm cells from interacting with an egg, preventing fertilization. The discovery, ...

Strong Link Between Western Diet During Pregnancy and ADHD

Mar. 3, 2025 — New research reveals that a mother's diet during pregnancy -- characterized by a Western dietary pattern high in fat and sugar and low in fresh ingredients -- may increase the risk of ...

How Parenthood May Help Keep Your Brain Young

Feb. 26, 2025 — Researchers find that parents show patterns of brain connectivity that oppose age-related ...

Screening and Treating Maternal Psychological Health Key to Improving Cardiovascular Health

Feb. 25, 2025 — Identifying and treating risk factors for depression, anxiety and other psychological health conditions during pregnancy and postpartum may improve short- and long-term health outcomes for both ...

Lifestyle Choices During Pregnancy Can Impact Child's Motor Development Up to the Age of 5-6 Years

Feb. 25, 2025 — A healthy diet in early pregnancy supports the child's motor development at the age of 5-6 years. Higher maternal body fat mass, on the other hand, has an adverse effect on the child's ...

Child ADHD Risk Linked to Mother's Use of Acetaminophen

Feb. 20, 2025 — Fetal acetaminophen exposure increases the likelihood that a child will develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new ...

Promising Results from First Prenatal Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Feb. 19, 2025 — Scientists report results from a promising new approach to treat the rare neurodegenerative ...