By Margarita Nahapetyan
Babies who are conceived with the help of some methods of fertility treatment are at more risk of birth defects than babies who are born to parents with no history of infertility, a large new research by Australian scientists has found.
Nearly 4 million babies are born every year with the aid of fertility treatments. But scientists say that it is not quite clear whether it is these treatments or some sort of un
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Pregnancy may decrease a woman's risk of developing the debilitating illness multiple sclerosis, Australian researchers have found. It has already been known that pregnancy can cause a remission in symptoms of this autoimmune disease, but the new findings suggest that having more children may prevent multiple sclerosis from ever developing.
To come up with this conclusion, researchers reviewed information of ne
Excerpted from Bump It Up; Transform Your Pregnancy into the Ultimate Style Statement By Amy Tara Koch
It's no secret that pregnancy doth not bring out one's inner glamour girl. Hormones flow, stomachs protrude, and once-clear complexions zigzag with "nonspecific dermatitis." Workouts are traded in for TiVo. A nondescript sack filled with Cheetos replaces the once-chic hobo. And fashion obsessions are usurped by fantasies of tucking into a vat of buttery mac and cheese.
Excerpted from Preparation for Birth: The Complete Guide to the Lamaze Method By Beverly Savage, Diana Simkin
One of the most profound changes that has taken place in the twentieth century concerns the manner in which women give birth. Today women are knowledgeable about the processes and procedures of childbirth. They prepare themselves mentally and physically ahead of time, and they expect to exercise a certain amount of control. Women once accepted all kinds of medic
By Margarita Nahapetyan
According to a new study, married couples face risk of divorce after going through a miscarriage or stillbirth, and unmarried partners are even at much higher risk of going their separate ways after pregnancy loss.
The study, investigating the relationship between marriage, childbirth, miscarriage and divorce, involved more than 3,700 married or cohabitating couples in the United States, who had at least one pr
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Women who consume a diet rich in essential Omega-3 oils are at a less risk of being infertile, whereas those ladies whose diets are loaded with trans fats may be more likely to develop endometriosis, the debilitating condition that causes infertility, U.S. researchers reported earlier this week.
In endometriosis, pieces of the womb lining, called endometrium, are located outside of the womb. The tissue grows du
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, say that flame-retardant chemicals that are present in many household consumer products like computers, fabrics, carpet padding, and plastics reduce a woman's chances of becoming pregnant.
According to the new findings, the chemicals called PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) leech out through dust on surfaces after what they can be inhaled and then stor
Excerpted from Everything You Need to Know to Have a Healthy Twin Pregnancy By Gila Leiter, Rachel Kranz
When I found myself pregnant with what I thought would be my second child, I was a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist at a busy private practice in New York City with a growing number of multiple births under our care. I've always enjoyed caring for pregnancies and deliveries of multiples, with their higher rate of prenatal problems and potentially difficult delive
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Researchers at Planned Parenthood, America's largest abortion provider, have found that taking the abortion pill orally instead of vaginally and in combination with antibiotics, reduces the number of serious infections and death associated with the drug by 93 per cent.
However, it is not clear yet whether the new findings are going to make any change in medical practice. The reaction to the study results was di
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Scientists have found that the exposure to toxic chemicals that are present in cosmetic products, shower curtains, vinyl flooring and children's toys, can put pregnant women to an increased risk of delivering a baby with a low birth weight.
According to the researchers, Phthalate - a chemical compound that is commonly being used to make hard plastics soft and more flexible - is linked to a low birth weight, whi
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Psychiatrists at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital have found that women have a harder time than men looking at babies with facial birth defects and are more likely than men to reject unattractive-looking babies. Researchers, who were studying perceptions of beauty, said that they had expected quite a different reaction.
McLean psychiatrist Dr. Igor Elman and postdoctoral student Rinah Yamamoto set to explore
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Future moms-to-be who take multivitamins during pregnancy, significantly lower the risk of delivering an underweight baby, researchers from Canada have reported this week.
One of the biggest risks to newborn babies is to be born too early and with too little weight. And, unfortunately, doctors do not know yet why some babies are being born pre-term. These babies are at much greater risk of mortality and later d
By Margarita Nahapetyan
An anti-nausea drug metoclopramide, that has been widely used by pregnant women who suffer morning sickness, but little tested for safety, was found to pose no significant risks for both the fetus and the mother, claims a large cohort study by Israeli scientists.
The study, titled "The Safety of Metoclopramide Use in the First Trimester of Pregnancy," found that the drug which was approved in the United States
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Future moms-to-be do not have to wait anymore till 18-20 weeks into their pregnancy in order to determine the gender of their unborn baby. Now, the first home gender test to hit the U.S. market, called "Boy or Girl Gender Prediction Test," created by IntelliGender company, says its over-the-counter test can predict the sex of a 10-week-old fetus in 10 minutes.
According to IntelliGender, the scientists isolated
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Men who stick to healthier diets including fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy products, significantly improve the semen quality, researchers from Spain have found.
"A healthy, well-balanced diet is not just important for preventing diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, or hypertension, but it may be useful for preserving or improving your reproductive health as well," said Dr. Jaime Mendiola of the Uni
By Margarita Nahapetyan
The Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) program that is aimed to reduce juvenile criminal behavior in America's youth, has yielded a surprising positive side effect. According to a new evidence, the program also reduces pregnancy rates in teenage girls.
In a new study, which was carried out by the experts at the Oregon State University (OSU) and the Eugene-based Oregon Social Learning Center, research
By Margarita Nahapetyan
The number of women in their 20s and 30s, who give birth to babies without being married, has sharply increased in the United States, according to the latest report from the U.S. officials.
In America, 40 per cent of births are now to women out of wedlock, and the majority of these are to women in their 20s, not teenagers, says a report, titled Changing Patterns of Non-marital Childbearing in the United States,
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Some food, cosmetic and cleaning products used by pregnant women expose unborn baby boys at greater risk of developing birth defects as well as testicular cancer and infertility later in life, claims a new study by Professor Richard Sharpe, one of the Britain's leading reproductive biologists.
Professor Sharpe said that chemical cocktails that are present in many products block the male sex hormone testosterone
By Margarita Nahapetyan
The most recent national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that the number of Americans, and most of them men, who support legalized abortion, has dropped by 8 per cent since last August.
According to the report, currently, 43 per cent of American male population say that abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 46 per cent think that abortion should be illegal i
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Moms-to-be who suffer from morning sickness throughout pregnancy might give birth to smarter and brighter baby, suggests new Canadian research.
Scientists at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children's Motherisk Program discovered that morning sickness appears to be associated with enhanced neurodevelopment of the fetus and that babies whose mothers suffered from nausea and vomiting, later tested a few IQ points hig
By Margarita Nahapetyan
High-powered jobs are harmful for the modern generation of women, suggests a new study by British researchers, who claim that successful careers and increased stress levels are affecting a woman's ability to conceive a child.
The study based its findings on an international comparison of women in 37 different populations and cultures - 33 non-Western populations and 4 European populations. It found that women w
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Women who experience migraines while being pregnant are at greater risk to suffer a stroke and other vascular disorders such as blood pressure and blot clots, claims a study by scientists at three of North Carolina's academic hospitals.
Although strokes during a pregnancy occur very rarely, women with migraine headaches face a 30-fold increase in the risk for the most common kind of stroke, researchers reported
By Margarita Nahapetyan
According to the U.S. scientists, exposure to air pollution during pregnancy may harm and affect the development of babies in the womb. The study, one of the largest to look at the effect of air pollution on pregnancy, found that future moms-to-be who inhale polluted air during the first three months and the third trimester of pregnancy, are at higher risk of delivering a child with low weight.
The findings are
By Margarita Nahapetyan
Couples who live in the tropics are more likely to produce baby girls, compared to the couples who live in cooler climates, according to the Greek researchers who claim that there is a link between latitude and the gender of babies.
Dr. Kristen Navara of the University of Georgia in Athens, analyzed the sex ratio of newborn boys to girls in 202 countries, from northern Europe to equatorial Africa. The data was
By Margarita Nahapetyan
For women who undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF), single embryo implant appears to be not only less expensive compared to two or more implants, but is also more effective and successful when it comes to delivering a healthy baby, reports a team of Finnish researchers.
The findings, which are the result of a long-running study, showed that the use of single embryo implantation increased while the live birth ra