Mothers Who Eat Fish While Pregnant Produce Offspring With Better Cognitive DevelopmentDoes eating fish during pregnancy improve a child's intelligence? According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition the answer is yes. The study revealed that infants of mothers who consumed more fish during pregnancy achieved higher scores in verbal intelligence and fine motor skill testing, as well as having a higher pro-social behavior...
Animal Fat Consumption Before Conception Linked To Gestational Diabetes RiskWomen who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes than women whose diets were lower in animal fat and cholesterol, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University. Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes seen during pregnancy...
More Women Choosing To Have Their Babies At Home Despite a decrease in home births between 1990 and 2004, the number of home births actually increased between 2004 and 2009 by 29%, an upturn of 0.56% in 2004, to 0.72% in 2009. In 2009, a total of 29,650 home births were reported in the United States. This is the most home births reported since researchers began analyzing data on this topic in 1989...
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Risk Factors In Pregnant WomenApproximately 1 in every 15,000 pregnant women will develop subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) - bleeding in the area between the brain and the thin membranes that cover the brain, according to a study published in the February issue of Anesthesiology...
Antiretrovirals Raise Birth Defect Risk HIV-positive mothers can protected their babies from becoming infected with the virus if they take antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy. However, even though these drugs prevent transmitting the disease to the child, they could potentially cause birth defects like cleft lip and palate...
Rise In Home Births In USAfter falling for 14 years, the percentage of home births in the US from 2004 to 2009 rose by 29% to the highest level since data collection on this began in 1989. However, although this looks like a big surge, the overall proportion of American women giving birth at home is still low: in 2004 only 0.56% of births were at home, rising to 0.72% in 2009...
Study Finds Paid Family Leave Leads To Positive Economic OutcomesWith a growing need for family-friendly workplace policies, a new study commissioned by the National Partnership for Women & Families, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, concludes that providing paid family leave to workers leads to positive economic outcomes for working families, businesses and the public...
Connection Between Birth Weights And Armed ConflictA new study shows pregnant women exposed to armed conflict have a higher risk of giving birth to underweight babies, a result that could change the way aid is delivered to developing countries. "From a development side we need to ask, `Who is the population we should be focusing on?'" said Hani Mansour, Ph.D...
Improving Maternal And Neonatal Care In Africa Saves LivesA large regional hospital in Ghana saw a reduction in maternal and infant deaths after continuous quality improvement (QI) initiatives were put into place through a collaborative partnership. New research from lead author Medge Owen, M.D...
No Safe Level Of Alcohol During Pregnancy The authors of a study published online on Tuesday that was designed to overcome the difficulties of obtaining accurate and reliable data in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome research, say their findings reinforce the warning that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy...