Pregnancy
It’s Safe for Obese Moms-to-Be to Lose Weight During Pregnancy
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Most women who are obese can safely exercise and diet to lose weight during pregnancy, according to a small pilot study conducted by Saint Louis University researchers.
“Doctors hadn’t encouraged pregnant women who were obese to limit their weight gain or have them lose weight because they were afraid it would hurt the baby,” says Raul Artal, M.D., principal investigator and chair of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health at Saint Louis University.
Sleep Apnea Increases Risk of Diabetes and Hypertension in Pregnant Women
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Sleep apnea is associated with a greatly increased incidence of pregnancy-induced diabetes and high blood pressure, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Wednesday, May 22.
The study found that when the women’s weight was taken into account, sleep apnea was associated with a doubling of the incidence of gestational diabetes and a fourfold increase in the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Pregnant South African women set world record
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Over 1,000 pregnant women in South Africa set a new world record on Saturday for the largest gathering of women due to give birth—and there were no early arrivals.
“We were a little bit concerned having all these pregnant women under one roof, but we are happy that none of them went into labor,” said organizer Projeni Pather.
Chinese college forces pregnancy tests on students
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A Chinese technical college for boarders has defended compulsory pregnancy tests for students as a responsibility to them and their families, local media reported Friday.
The college in Urumqi, capital of the far western region of Xinjiang, had tested new students for several years and would ask those who tested positive to leave, the Beijing News said, citing students.
Pregnant Indonesian woman dies of bird flu
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A pregnant Indonesian woman from Sumatra Island has died of bird flu, increasing the country’s human death toll from the disease to 76, health officials said.
Two tests had confirmed the 26-year-old woman, who died on Saturday evening in Medan, had the H5N1 bird flu virus, Runizar Ruesin, head of the health ministry’s bird flu centre, said by telephone on Monday.
100% of pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta
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According to a study conducted by the UGR, 100% of pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta
- A doctoral thesis written at the Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine reveals an average presence of eight organochlorine contaminants in the organisms of pregnant women, which are usually ingested by means of food, water and air.
Migraines During Pregnancy Linked to Stroke and Other Vascular Diseases
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Migraines during pregnancy are strongly linked to vascular diseases, such as stroke and heart disease, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28 – May 5, 2007.
Researchers looked at a national database of nearly 17 million women discharged for pregnancy deliveries from 2000-2003. A total of 33,956 of the women were treated for migraines.
Difficult births in obese women due to uterus failure
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Liverpool scientists have uncovered the reason why overweight women have more Caesarean sections; they are at significant risk of their uterus contracting poorly in childbirth
In a study of 4,000 pregnant women, researchers found that almost 1 in 5 overweight women had to undergo an emergency Caesarean Section birth because the muscles in their uterus failed. The research suggests obesity impairs the ability of the uterus to contract sufficiently in order to dilate the cervix and deliver the baby.
The team from the University of Liverpool’s Physiology department found that obese women were 3.5 times more likely to require a Caesarean for slow labour than normal weight women.
Apples during pregnancy protects baby from asthma
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A new study suggests that women who eat apples while pregnant may protect their child from developing asthma and related symptoms.
In the study, researchers from The Netherlands and Scotland led by S. M. Willers of Utrecht University tracked the diets of nearly 2,000 pregnant women and checked the lung health of 1,253 of their children.
Different Approach Needed to Protect Brains of Premature Babies
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A study of how the brain of a premature infant responds to injury has found vulnerabilities similar to those in the mature brain but also identified at least one significant difference, according to neuroscientists and neonatologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
In an animal model of brain injury, researchers showed for the first time that parts of the developing brain are vulnerable to damage from glutamate, a nervous system messenger compound. Glutamate is already well-known for its links to injury in the mature brain. But scientists also found damage in the developing brain that could not be linked to glutamate, suggesting that different treatments are needed to prevent brain injury in premature infants.
Prenatal smoke exposure tied to attention problems
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Teens whose mothers smoked while pregnant with them and are themselves smokers have a harder time paying attention and focusing than their non-smoking peers who were not exposed to smoke in the womb, a new study shows.
The researchers also found gender differences in the effect of nicotine exposure, with exposed girls showing both visual and auditory attention deficits, while the boys only had difficulties in listening.
Malaria in pregnancy: What can the social sciences contribute?
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Most malaria deaths worldwide are in children under 5 years old and pregnant women. While there has been a large amount of social science research on children and malaria, malaria in pregnancy has received little attention from social scientists, say researchers in a policy paper in PLoS Medicine.
Building on existing knowledge from social science research on malaria, Professor Umberto D’Alessandro (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium) and colleagues propose two models for studying the social science aspects of malaria in pregnancy. One model considers social factors in malaria prevention, and the other in malaria treatment.
IVF clinics told to cut down on twins or face sanctions
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IVF clinics could have multiple birth rates capped under plans to cut the number of twins born as a result of fertility treatment.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said it was considering sanctions for clinics that produce too many multiple births which can put the lives of mothers and babies at risk.
In preeclampsia, researchers identify proteins that cause blood vessel damage
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Proteins released by the placenta may damage blood vessels in women with preeclampsia (PE), according to an abstract presented by Yale School of Medicine researchers at the Society for Gynecologic Investigation Conference March 17 in Reno, Nevada.
In PE, a complication of pregnancy linked to life-threatening increases in high blood pressure after 20 weeks of gestation, it has long been recognized that substances called “microparticles” released by the placenta damage maternal blood vessels. Researchers at Yale, led by Seth Guller, sought to detect whether specific proteins were found in microparticles.
Risk of Birth Complications Varies Between Racial Groups
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Babies born to South Asian women are at a higher risk of perinatal mortality (death before, during or shortly after birth) than babies born to black or white women, concludes a study published online by the BMJ today.
The World Health Organisation defines post-term pregnancy as beyond 41 completed weeks from the first day of the last menstrual period. Post-term pregnancy is associated with increased perinatal mortality, and induction of labour at 41 weeks is often used to help avoid this risk.
