Using cocaine during pregnancy can cause disabling cognitive impairments in kids. These impairments include attention deficits, learning disabilities and emotional problems. The study was conducted by researchers at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development.
A score that measures the proteomic profile of amniotic fluid may predict inflammation before delivery. Researchers from Yale University, led by Catalin Buhimschi, have previously identified a set of four protein markers that were closely associated with inflammation in the amniotic fluid, and developed a score based on these proteins “the “Mass Restricted” (MR) score. This score has been shown to be able to identify women at risk of preterm delivery.
Do women have a secret so painful that they even keep it from themselves? According to Dr. Anita H. Clayton of the University of Virginia, the secret exists, and it?s big. In an era when so many women are over-achievers with high expectations for almost every area of their lives, too many of them settle for mediocre sex.
Mothers who breastfeed should be sure to have enough calcium in their diet, or may risk bone loss around their teeth and gums, according to a new study that appears in the January issue of the Journal of Periodontology.
An important cancer-related gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta, the organ that controls nutrient and oxygen exchange between a mother and her fetus during pregnancy, and perhaps in miscarriages. Those conclusions come from a new study of the retinoblastoma (Rb) gene in mice. In humans, this gene, when mutated, raises the risk of a rare cancer of the eye called retinoblastoma.
A quarter of men with testicular cancer banked their sperm before treatment, but only six percent of those used the sperm to father a child. Men who banked their sperm averaged 26 — 10 years younger than those who didn’t — and were more than twice as likely to be single. As most men treated for testicular cancer are young, and survival rates exceed 90 percent, post-treatment fertility is an important issue, say researchers.
Adequate levels of folate or folic acid (vitamin B) are important to prevent pregnancy complications like neural-tube birth defects – spina bifida, but in recent years folate levels have decreased among non-pregnant US women of childbearing age.
Many changes in family structure in the U.S. have occurred over the past few decades. A recent article in Journal of Marriage and Family explores a demographic trend surrounding family formation ? unmarried cohabitation and childbearing.
Soon-to-be mums admit they feel “left in the dark” when it comes to being told about the possible implications of prenatal screening – tests which could lead them down a path where they have to make difficult decisions about their unborn child.
A University of Virginia Health System researcher and colleagues have just published findings showing that just a few targeted counseling sessions had a notably positive impact on women at high risk for binge drinking, unplanned pregnancy and exposure to alcohol during pregnancy. The counseling technique, called motivational interviewing (MI), has proven effective after just four counseling sessions.