COVID-19 infection in pregnancy is not associated with stillbirth or early neonatal death, according to a new study. However the research, from over 4000 pregnant women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, also found women who had a positive test were more likely to have a premature birth. The research, led…
Babies’ gut bacteria affected by delivery method: Vaginal delivery promotes mother’s gut bacteria in babies’ gut
Babies born vaginally have different gut bacteria — their microbiome — than those delivered by Caesarean, research has shown. Scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, UCL, the University of Birmingham and their collaborators discovered that whereas vaginally born babies got most of their gut bacteria from their mother, babies born…
If the natural birth does not expect – and what are the unnecessary risks thereby incur
A Situation that occurs every day and night: A young woman, Primipara, in labor, the heart sounds of the child to be slower. She feels strong, she never has thought about it, to spare yourself the pain of birth by a caesarean section. At two o’clock at night, the a…
Gender binary in elite sports should be abandoned, researchers urge
Existing gender categories in sport should perhaps be abandoned in favour of a more “nuanced” approach in the new transgender era, University of Otago researchers say. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidelines that allow male-to-female transgender athletes to compete in the women’s category at the elite level has raised significant…
Access to contraception not ‘silver bullet’ to stem population growth in Africa
Greater economic development across Africa in the years ahead could cause its population to grow at an even quicker rate than current projections, according to an important new demographic study released today. According to UN estimates, the population of sub-Saharan Africa is set to double by 2050, which could add…
‘Safety bubble’ expands during third trimester: Pregnant women increase peripersonal space to ‘keep dangers at arm’s length’
New research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, shows that women undergo a significant mental as well as physical change during the late stages of pregnancy. The study, carried out in Cambridge by scientists from Anglia Ruskin University and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Addenbooke’s Hospital, investigated peripersonal…
In vitro fertilization linked to deadly heart disease in pregnancy
Women undergoing fertility treatment should urgently see their doctor if they have heart failure symptoms, according to a study presented today at Heart Failure 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Shortness of breath, swollen legs and waking up in the night to urinate could be…
Antibiotics may treat endometriosis: Targeted treatment reduces number of disease-causing microbes in mice
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found, in mice, that treatment with an antibiotic reduces the size of lesions caused by endometriosis. The researchers are planning a large, multicenter clinical trial to test the drug metronidazole in women who have the painful condition. The study…
First birth after robot-assisted uterus transplant
A boy 48 centimeters long, weighing 2900 grams, is the first baby born after the technological shift in Gothenburg’s world-leading research on uterine transplantation. The birth, with the planned cesarean delivery (C-section), took place on Monday April 8th and the whole family is doing fine. “It’s a fantastic feeling to…
Fertility app ‘Dot’ found to be as effective as other family planning methods
Results of a first-of-its-kind prospective study with a family planning app find it to be as effective as other modern methods for avoiding an unplanned pregnancy. Researchers from the Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University Medical Center studied women’s use of the Dot app over 13 menstrual cycles,…
Refugee women have healthier pregnancies than US women — why? An unhealthy US culture: For African refugee women, acculturation may negatively impact health
African refugee women experience healthier pregnancies than women born in the United States, despite receiving less prenatal care, found a recent University at Buffalo study. Compared to U.S.-born black and white women, African refugee women had fewer pre-pregnancy health risks, fewer preterm births and higher rates of vaginal deliveries. Surprisingly,…