19 May
Many women in the U.S. say it can be difficult to access healthcare during pregnancy -- and they often feel forgotten after giving birth, a new HealthDay/Harris Poll finds.
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...
Prescription opioids taken during pregnancy are not associated with a substantial increase in risk of developmental disorders like ADHD in children, a new study has found.
“A slightly i...
The percentage of married American women under the age of 50 who are infertile rose between 2011 and 2019, new government statistics show.
Data from the National Survey of Family Growth show that "the percentage of married women ages 15-49 who were infertile rose from 20...
Active military service appears to increase a woman’s risk of having a low birthweight baby, a new review finds.
Nearly two-thirds of studies (63%) conclude that women on active service could be at higher risk of having a baby with low birth weight, researchers reporte...
All expecting mothers should get a blood test for syphilis three times during pregnancy, new guidance issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends.
Women who smoke and become pregnant may worry that the weight gain that comes with quitting might bring its own harms to themselves or their baby.
The placenta could be one reason why some women develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy, a new study finds.
A deficit in the way the placenta expresses the gene for a hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) appears linked to insulin resistance during p...
Women who experience common complications during a pregnancy could face heightened odds for early death for decades to come, new research shows.
In the largest such study to date, "women who experienced any of five major adverse pregnancy outcomes had increased mortalit...
There's no evidence that acetaminophen use during pregnancy increases the risk of childhood autism, ADHD or intellectual disability, the largest study to date on the subject has concluded.
<...Pregnancy transforms women's bodies in many obvious ways, but new research suggests it may also accelerate aging.
Women who had been pregnant appeared to be biologically older than women who had never carried a child, the genetic analysis revealed.
Further, more pr...
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...
Massive racial disparities exist in the treatment of pregnancy-related mood disorders in the United States, a new study shows.
White women suffering from ...
Expecting or new mothers are much more likely these days to be diagnosed with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, new research shows.
Following oral arguments presented on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court looked poised to rebuff a legal challenge to women's access to the abortion pill.
Mifepristone is part of a two-drug regimen now used for the&n...
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments Tuesday in a case that could determine nationwide access to the abortion pill, a new study finds requests for the medication made outside the traditional health care system surged after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Ther...
A common antiseizure drug used to treat epilepsy, migraines and bipolar disorder does not appear to increase the risk of autism for kids exposed to it in the womb, ...
People with autoimmune disorders such as lupus, type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis tend to have fewer children, and women with this class of illnesses often have higher risks for complications of pregnancy, new research shows.
Researchers in Finland compared pregna...
Following the historic reversal of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, the number of abortions in the United States has risen to more than a million per year, with medication abortions representing nearly two-thirds of those cases.
Teen pregnancy can change the trajectory of one's life, but now a new study suggests it could also shorten that life.
Canadian researchers report that women who were pregnant as teenagers were more likely to die before they reached the age of 31.
“The youn...
For years, U.S. health officials have been sounding the alarm over a steady rise in pregnancy-related deaths among American women, with numbers that appeared to far outstrip those of other wealthy nations.
However, the statistics behind those trends could be flawed, rese...
A woman's risk of intentional death by firearm rises during and shortly after pregnancy, new research shows.
About 1 in 6 intentional firearm-related deaths in women of childbearing age occurred during pregnancy or within a year of childbirth, the study found.
A vaginal ring that emits the antiviral dapivirine has passed safety trials and could shield vulnerable women against HIV infection during pregnancy, a new trial shows.
"We now have data on the ring's safety during all stages of pregnancy,” said study leader
The first over-the-counter birth control pill will soon be available in U.S. stores and online, the drug's maker plans to announce Monday.
Children exposed to anesthesia in the womb when their pregnant mom has surgery are more likely to suffer from behavioral issues later, a new study finds.
Exposure to general anesthesia before birth was associated with a 31% increased risk of diagnosis with a behavioral d...
CVS and Walgreens announced Friday that they will start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone this month.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has certified the nation's two largest pharmacy chains to dispense mifepristone, and they plan to make the medication avail...
The historic overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 has not had any significant effect on the number of abortions performed each month in the United States, new data shows.
The #WeCount report tracks abortion rates acros...
Babies born to mothers who experience profound grief during pregnancy may be vulnerable to heart failure much later in life, new research suggests.
"If future studies support our findings, the implementation of early screening for risk factors such as obesity, hypertensi...
Surging temperatures caused by climate change could lead to more premature births worldwide, a new study reports.
Researchers found a strong association between exposure to extreme heat during the third trimester of pregnancy and the risk of premature delivery.
“...
Data from dozens of studies supports the notion that mental health crises are a big factor behind rising rates of maternal deaths during and around pregnancy in the United States.
“We need to bring this to the attention of the public and policymakers to demand action t...
Microscopic bits of plastic have been found lodged in tissues in much of the human body, and new research shows they are also infiltrating the p...
A third of trans masculine people who have undergone testosterone therapy and have stopped menstruating are still ovulating, a new study suggests.
That means they remain at risk for an unwanted pregnancy, despite the absence of periods, Dutch researchers concluded.
Mercury levels in tuna haven't changed since 1971, despite efforts to reduce emissions of the toxic metal into the environment, researchers report.
Their analysis of nearly 3,000 tuna samples caught in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans between 1971 and 2022 reveale...
More than two dozen toddlers and at least 128 pregnant women received RSV vaccines they should not have gotten, U.S. health officials say.
The mixup, reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Contro...
Two of the most common pregnancy complications for women, high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, could jeopardize the future heart health of their children, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that the children of women who developed either or both of th...
Nearly 1 in every 10 women infected with COVID during pregnancy will go on to develop long COVID, a new study says.
A little more than 9% of pregnant women developed long COVID six or more months after their initial infection, according to findings presented Monday at a ...
Think twice if you're pregnant and craving a packaged pastry or a take-out burger and shake.
That indulgence can do more than cause unwanted weight gain. A new study shows that phthalates, chemicals associated with plastics, can shed from packaging and even from plastic ...
Preterm births linked to “hormone-disruptor” chemicals in plastics cost the U.S. health care system billions of dollars, a new study claims.
Daily exposure to phthalates -- chemicals used to manufacture plastics -- might be tied to nearly 56,000 preterm births in the...
The COVID-19 vaccine given to pregnant women does no harm to their unborn babies, and can actually lower the risk of serious complications in newborns, a new study finds.
Babies born to women who received the COVID vaccine had half the death rate of those born to unvacc...
Using ultrasound to measure blood flow in the placenta and the fetus could help spot issues tied to low birth weight, researchers report.
As the Dutch investigators explained, about 10% of fetuses are determined to be "small for gestational age" after ultrasound examinat...
There's one treatment for pregnant women addicted to opioids that's safer for their unborn child, a new study reports.
Buprenorphine is associated with a slightly lower risk of birth defects overall compared to methadone, according to findings published recently in the j...
Becoming pregnant as a result of sexual violence is disturbingly common in the United States, a new study reveals.
Nearly 6 million U.S. women have become pregnant as a result of rape or sexual coercion, researchers reported recently in the
U.S. approval of over-the-counter emergency contraception like “Plan B” has had an unintended but positive side effect for America's hospitals, a new study shows.
Emergency room visits related to “morning-after” contraception plummeted after the pills became easi...
Pregnant women exposed to flame-retardant chemicals could face an increased risk of premature birth, a new study warns.
Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are commonly used as flame retardants in products like furniture, baby items, electronics, clothes and building materials...
Ultrasound scans that pick up "microstructural" changes in a woman's cervix could point to her having a higher risk for preterm birth, researchers report.
The scans were done as early as week 23 of pregnancy and could help assess risks for "preemie" delivery, even among ...
THURSDAY, Jan. 25, 2024 (HealthDayNews) -- In the 14 states with abortion bans, there have been nearly 65,000 pregnancies resulting from rape during the time since those bans went into place, a new study estimates.
To arrive at that troubling number, researchers turned t...
Women are suffering more anxiety and depression in states that banned abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a new study shows.
The court's Dobbs decision in June 2022 triggered laws banning abortion in 13 states.
In the six months after, symptoms...
Babies born to COVID-infected mothers have triple the risk of developing a breathing disorder that normally affects preemies, a new study shows.
Researchers found that exposure to the coronavirus while in the womb increased a newborn's risk of respiratory distress syndro...
Expecting moms who often turn to acetaminophen for their aches and pains are more likely to wind up with kids who have behavioral issues, a new study warns.
Children between the ages of 2 and 4 were more likely to have attention and behavioral problems if their mothers f...
Abortion bans are intended to preserve the lives of children, proponents say, but a new study has found infants are more likely to die in the states with the most restrictive laws.
States with the tightest abortion laws had a 16% increased infant mortality rate from 2014...