The short post-pandemic uptick in U.S. births may be over, with 2023 numbers showing a decline in births.
According to provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just under 3.6 million babies were born in America in 2023, about 76,000 fewe...
Childbirth is a harrowing ordeal, and it's being made worse by mistreatment from health care providers during labor, a new study says.
More than one in every eight women are mistreated during childbirth, researchers found.
Most commonly, women's requests for help d...
Maternal syphilis rates have tripled in recent years, putting thousands of newborns at risk for infection, a new U.S. government report shows.
Left untreated, syphilis can damage the heart and brain and cause blindness, deafness and paralysis. When transmitted during pre...
When Kelsey Hatcher's twins share their birth story someday, their tale will truly be one in a million.
Hatcher, who gave birth at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has a rare double uterus and was pregnant with a baby in each one. After 20 hours of labor, s...
The timing of a simple, standard part of childbirth could mean the difference between life and death for premature babies, a pair of new evidence reviews have concluded.
Preemies whose umbilical cords are clamped 30 seconds to two minutes after birth are less likely to d...
Following nearly two decades of decline, U.S. infant death rates edged up by 3% in 2022, new provisional government numbers reveal.
“This was the first year we saw statistically significant increased rates of infant mortality in about 20 years,” said study author
New parents bringing home their bundle of joy often carry something else with them as they leave the hospital: medical debt.
That's according to new research from Michigan Medicine that found postpartum women are more likely to have medical debt than those who are pregna...
The United States is experiencing an alarming wave of congenital syphilis, and one southern state saw a 1,000% rise in babies born with the infection between 2016 and 2022.
The number of babies born with the infection in Mississippi rose from 10 in 2016 to 110 in 2022. S...
Walkable neighborhoods -- with sidewalks, parks and paths -- encourage pregnant women to get more exercise, which leads to good outcomes for both mom and baby.
New research ...
Having a baby in the United States continues to be a risky proposition, particularly for Black women, according to a pair of new reports.
The number of U.S. deliveries that resulted in severe, potentially life-threatening complications for the mother increased between 20...
Many American women fear childbirth, and the COVID-19 pandemic did not calm those feelings, new research shows.
"Our results showed really high rates of childbirth fear in our sample," said
Pregnancy rates in the United States suffered a steep decline during the last decade, new government data shows.
The overall U.S. pregnancy rate fell by 12% between 2010 and 2019, according to figures released Wednesday by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (...
The "baby bust" that hit the United States during the first year of the COVID pandemic did not affect all states equally — with states that were more racially diverse or more "blue" seeing bigger drops in their birth rates.
A potentially dangerous complication of pregnancy might be prevented by carefully screening women late in pregnancy and planning a timed delivery for those at high risk, a new study reports.
More than half of all preeclampsia cases that occur late in pregnancy could be w...
Where a woman lives in the United States has a lot to do with whether she has severe maternal complications from childbirth, according to new research using Medicaid data.
Her race or ethnicity also greatly affects this, researchers found.
"Near misses" -- where co...
New mothers who gave birth early in the pandemic filled far more opioid prescriptions than American women did previously, raising concerns about the potential for narcotic misuse.
About 38% of more than 460,000 women who gave birth from July 2018 through December 2020 we...
Despite a longstanding assumption that babies' gut microbiome development could be affected by whether they were born vaginally or through cesarean section, scientists report this doesn't appear to be the case.
A team of Canadian researchers looked to infant stool microb...
New evidence finds that babies born by cesarean section may not miss out on essential microbes.
Though these newborns receive less of their mother's gut microbiome during birth, they can obtain their mom's microbes in breast milk and in other ways.
“We wanted t...
You're 38 weeks pregnant and so uncomfortable you can barely move, so you ask your doctor if labor can be induced early.
That's not necessarily a good idea, according to new research that found children born after elective induced labor may do worse in school.
Dut...
Continuing a decades-long trend, the percentage of American women who've ever had a child declined again in the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"A lower percentage of women aged 15 to 44 in 2015--2019 had ever had a biological chi...
More pregnant women in the United States are choosing to deliver their babies at home rather than in hospitals, a trend that may have been influenced by the pandemic.
The pandemic brought about a lot of changes in people's lives. For many, that included a new baby.
The United States saw a “baby bump” in 2021 described in a new study as “the first major reversal in ...
Stillbirth is heartbreaking tragedy for parents, but exactly what raises the risk of it remains elusive.
Certain health conditions in a pregnant woman can be a factor, but new research came up...
Pregnancy can be safer and healthier for both mom and baby with good access to quality maternity care.
Yet, the United States is still among one of the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth, especially in rural areas and communities of color, according to a ne...
Too much anxiety isn't good for anyone, but a new study suggests it is particularly perilous for pregnant women because it can raise the chances of their ...
Stories about their difficult birth or their parents' fertility challenges can give adult children a more grateful, upbeat attitude towards their lives, British researchers suggest.
Childbirth shouldn't put any dent in your future lovin', regardless of the way your baby was delivered, new research assures.
Sexual enjoyment isn't affected at all by method of delivery in the years following childbirth, according to
Where you live may affect your fertility, a new study suggests.
People who live in economically deprived neighborhoods are about 20% less likely...
Better have some savings stored up before you rush to the delivery room: A new analysis shows the average out-of-pocket expense for delivering a child in the United States is nearly $3,000, even if you're insured.
Other studies have looked at the costs for specific serv...
Babies delivered by cesarean section are no more likely to have food allergies during their first year of life than other infants, according to an Australian study.
The association between type of delivery and food allergy risk had been unclear, so researchers decided to...
Giving antibiotics to a woman just before a cesarean delivery does not increase her baby's risk of asthma or eczema, a new British study says.
C-section is common, but can put new mothers at incre...
Pregnant women who aren't vaccinated against COVID-19 are at greater risk for delivering stillborn babies, and new research provides important clues about why.
Unlike other fungal, bacterial or viral infections, which cross over the placenta to affect the fetus, SARS-CoV...
So, you're pregnant and battling nausea every day. What harm could come from smoking a joint to settle your stomach?
Plenty, according to a new study that suggests women who use pot while expe...
A two-minute test can accurately detect vaginal bacteria associated with preterm birth, researchers have found, pointing to a possible way to identify pregnant women at increased risk of early delivery.
In the United States, about one in 10 babies are born preterm, accor...
Among the many negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may be damage to the bond between mothers and their infants, researchers say.
Women who experienced grief and depression due to pandemic-related losses may find it more difficult to form this all-important emotiona...
Women who were born with heart defects may get some reassurance from a new study that finds they face no heightened risk to health during a pregnancy and delivery.
According to the researchers, doctors may often advise these women against getting pregnant due to the pote...
Pregnant women who receive an epidural to ease their pain during labor aren't any more likely than others to have kids with autism, two new studies show.
Earlier research suggested this practice may increase autism risk in offspring, but the pair of studies should put th...
Birth rates tend to fall during pandemics, and history is repeating itself with the COVID-19 scourge, researchers say.
Fewer babies have been born in much of Europe and the United States. Earlier in the pandemic, U.S. births declined 7%, a new study finds.
In Europ...
COVID-19 is surging in U.S. states with low vaccination rates, and these places may also be seeing a higher-than-usual number of stillbirths linked to the virus.
While the number of stillbirths is still very low nationally, doctors in the Deep South have noticed increase...
Leaky heart valves can put pregnant women at serious risk, according to a large study that runs counter to established practice.
The condition used to be considered relatively harmless during pregnancy. But this analysis by Johns Hopkins University researchers of more th...
First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes baby in the baby carriage.
While that childhood rhyme used to be true, college-educated women in the United States are now more likely than ever to have a first baby outside marriage. They're also more likely than other w...
The health impact of wildfires is already huge, and new research suggests it might also raise a mom-to-be's risk for preterm birth, according to a new study.
Wildfire smoke contains high levels of PM 2.5, the deadliest type of pollution from particles so fine they can em...
All births are not created equal, new U.S. research reveals: Differences in the quality of hospital care contribute to a higher chance of complications among Black and Hispanic newborns compared to white and Asian infants.
The analysis of more than 480,000 live births at...
In a sign that the pandemic may have spared pregnant women and their newborns, a new Canadian study suggests there was no increase in preterm births or stillbirths during the first year of the pandemic.
Some studies found preterm birth rates in countries such as the Neth...
Thinking of starting a family? Start getting your heart in shape. New research suggests that how healthy a woman's heart is before conception affects outcomes in her pregnancy.
Study author Dr. Sadiya Khan said the findings make a case for more comprehensive heart assess...
When a baby is born, the mother's body provides a pathway into the world, but the journey also exposes them to beneficial bacteria that live in and on their mom. But that critical exchange doesn't happen during a cesarean section delivery.
Now, researchers report that sw...
Women who suffer from migraines may be more vulnerable to pregnancy complications, new research finds.
"Our study confirms that women who suffer from migraine are at a greater risk of a host of medical and obstetric complications. As such, we are [recommending] that thes...
Marriage and children may be the norm for most Americans, but a new study shows that many people are choosing to remain child-free -- and they're happy that way.
The study of 1,000 Michigan adults found that one-quarter had opted not to have kids. And, on average, their ...
Postpartum depression strikes fathers of premature babies more often than previously thought, and it can linger longer in fathers than in mothers, a new study finds.
The researchers screened for depression in 431 parents of premature infants in a neonatal intensive care...
Having a baby is expensive. The cost of diapers, a crib, a car seat and all the other infant necessities can really add up, and now a new study shows that having a child comes with its own hefty hospital price tag for many U.S. families.
About one in six families in the ...