All articles tagged: Obstetrics & gynaecology

For some people, getting pregnant can be challenging. So more and more are turning to in vitro fertilization—or IVF—which offers hope for couples and individuals trying to have a baby.

An ordinary boy who loves sports. This is how 10-year-old Vincent introduced himself when he spoke to leading international uterus transplantation researchers in Gothenburg. Vincent was the first baby to be born from a transplanted uterus.

Young women worldwide face problems like unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The 1.8 billion adolescents and young people (age 15-24) of both sexes worldwide account for 42% of new HIV infections.

One of California's two programs for training nurse-midwives has stopped admitting students while it revamps its curriculum to offer only doctoral degrees, a move that's drawn howls of protest from alumni, health policy experts, and faculty who accuse the University of California of putting profits above public health needs.

Women with higher levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during pregnancy may experience long-term weight gain and heart problems later in life, according to new research, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, titled "Early Pregnancy Plasma Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Maternal Midlife Adiposity."

Efforts to rule out bladder tumors and tuberculosis are still essential in the follow-up of patients with suspected interstitial cystitis (IC), according to a study published online Aug. 11 in the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics.

A new study has found that Medicaid ACOs in Massachusetts were associated with increases in prenatal and postpartum office visits, postpartum depression screenings, and timely postpartum care.

Heart failure during pregnancy is a dangerous and often under-detected condition because common symptoms—shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and trouble breathing while lying down—are easily mistaken for typical pregnancy discomforts. Late-breaking research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress on a Mayo Clinic study showed an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital stetho

A recent study sheds light on the potential long-term neuropsychiatric risks associated with prenatal cannabis exposure.

Heat waves in sub-Saharan Africa are predicted to become more common due to climate change. A new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and others, published in Nature Medicine, reveals a worrying correlation between high temperatures in the final week of pregnancy and an increased risk of stillbirth and early neonatal mortality.

White women are paid up to eight times more for their eggs than Black women in the U.S., according to data uncovered by the author of a new book which exposes the lesser-known ramifications of egg donation.

It is important for everyone—but especially girls, women and people who menstruate—to understand how ovulation and menstruation work.

The conditions within a person's home, family and community affect their ability to stay healthy. Scientists studying these social determinants of health are trying to understand whether nature or nurture has a stronger effect on a person's ability to fight disease.

An estimated 800 women die every day across the world as a result of pregnancy-related complications. Most deaths (95%) occur in low- and middle-income countries. Two-thirds are in sub-Saharan Africa. For every woman who dies, about 20 others suffer from various pregnancy related complications.

Sports stars like Simone Biles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Katie Ledecky dazzled fans at the recent Paris Olympic Games with their performances. But off the pitch, many athletes also used the Olympics to draw attention to deeply entrenched inequities and challenges facing girls and women in sport, such as body confidence and support for athletes with small children.

Brazilian researchers have investigated the effects of delivery date manipulation to avoid the Carnival holiday. Their findings suggest that Brazilian women are giving birth too early, impairing the health of their babies.

Federal statistics suggesting that maternal mortality rates plummeted after the overturning of Roe v. Wade are "highly misleading" and being misinterpreted by abortion opponents, according to new research published this week in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Smoking harms almost every part of your body. But if you smoke when pregnant, the toxic chemicals in tobacco will also harm your unborn baby, with new research showing that it could lead to reduced academic outcomes at school.

For the first time, a multi-medical society panel has developed and endorsed a uniform lexicon for describing the observations seen on ultrasound during the first trimester of pregnancy. The lexicon, based on scientific evidence, societal guidelines and expert consensus, was published today in Radiology and simultaneously in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The lexicon addresses te

A KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) study on breastfeeding practices reveals that among the women who exclusively breastfed, those with high body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy lost more weight than women with a healthy BMI pre-pregnancy. The findings are published in the journal Nutrients.

Tubal sterilization is thought to be a permanent form of birth control and is the most common method of contraception nationally. But a new study led by UC San Francisco reports that tubal surgery fails often enough that some other forms of birth control are usually more effective.

A 12-week pelvic floor yoga program is not superior to a physical conditioning program for women with daily urinary incontinence, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Bridgette Kelly and Trish Ratajczak from Murdoch University's Ngangk Yira Institute for Change are passionate about changing this, with both addressing these gaps in their Accelerated Master's by Research theses.

Research in mouse models has identified a new mechanism for how long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs), like omega-3s, are transported from the mother to the fetus during pregnancy. The results, published in Nature Communications, could help to identify ways to tackle LC-PUFA deficiency in the developing fetus.

A federal lawsuit in Texas against Planned Parenthood has a web of ties to conservative activist Leonard Leo, whose decades-long effort to steer the U.S. court system to the right overturned Roe v. Wade, yielding the biggest rollback of reproductive health access in half a century.

A study in mice has found that the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in the mother's gut during pregnancy supports healthy brain development in the fetus. The results are published in the journal Molecular Metabolism.

Women who conceive through in vitro fertilization and experience a serious pregnancy complication are twice as likely to deliver early (

Federal officials affirmed this month that the pain people might feel when getting an IUD can be more than doctors' promises of "just a pinch."

New research published in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology reveals that children born preterm are more likely to screen positive for autism than full-term children.

Even light smoking of just one to two cigarettes a day either before or at any time during pregnancy is significantly associated with major health problems in the newborn, finds research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

During in vitro fertilization (IVF), a number of different embryos are produced from eggs and sperm. Then, embryologists choose which one of the embryos is most likely to lead to a successful pregnancy and transfer it to the patient.

Final government data finds the number of U.S. births falling by 2% last year compared to 2022, continuing a decades-long decline.

In an editorial published in BMJ, CUNY SPH Senior Associate Dean Terry McGovern and Ph.D. student and adjunct professor Ira Memaj, along with Northeastern University's Samantha Garbers, shed light on the devastating consequences of restrictive abortion laws across the U.S.

The postpartum period is a time of anatomical, physiological and psychological transition. The recent Olympic Games brought to light the exceptional capacity of women after the birth of a child and is a story of success for women athletes globally.

With their primary goal to advance scientific knowledge, most scientists are not trained or incentivized to think through the societal implications of the technologies they are developing. Even in genomic medicine, which is geared toward benefiting future patients, time and funding pressures make real-time ethics oversight difficult.

For people with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), every month involves a struggle: feeling low and hopeless, navigating a minefield of intrusive thoughts and emotions, feeling so tired and overwhelmed that they are reduced to tears. The symptoms—which can also include depressed mood, anxiety, mood swings, irritability, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating and appetite changes—lift wh

Uterine transplants are relatively rare and recent—the first was performed in 2011, and to date a little more than 100 transplants have been conducted worldwide.

A study looking at the experiences of families and health care professionals following incidents involving NHS maternity care highlights critical factors for improving communication with families.

Giving probiotics to pregnant mice can enhance both the immune system and behavior of the mothers and their offspring, according to a new study led by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine.

Last week, South Australia announced it would offer pregnant women a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) from next year for free. It's the first Australian state or territory to do so.

Engineers have developed AI technology that accurately assesses the quality of live sperm in seconds, removing the need for invasive procedures that compromise sperm viability in IVF treatments.

Rates of obesity among pregnant women in Victoria have risen steadily over a decade, new research has shown, sparking concerns for the health implications for both mothers and babies.

Endometriosis is a condition that affects women and girls. It occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus ends up in other areas of the body. These areas include the ovaries, bladder, bowel and digestive tract.

For those experiencing fertility issues, cost can be a major barrier to becoming a parent.

Women whose fallopian tubes are removed during sterilization via laparoscopy have only marginally more surgical complications than those whose tubes are simply cut, a study shows. The removal, salpingectomy, is a safe procedure that can help protect against future ovarian cancer.

Pregnant and postpartum women with depression and anxiety have a slightly better chance of getting psychotherapy these days, a new study finds. And they are paying less of their own money when they do.

Plenty of women know that having an IUD inserted in their uterus can be an excruciating experience, but new government guidance issued Thursday may soon make the experience less painful for many.

The number of abortions in the United States has actually grown since the Supreme Court allowed states to enact strict bans on the procedure, according to a study released Wednesday.

Rates of heavy drinking in Aotearoa New Zealand are starting to decline, matching trends seen in Europe. This may reflect greater awareness of the harm caused by alcohol, as well as financial pressures and the reduced affordability of alcohol products.

Novice users with no prior training in ultrasonography can accurately estimate gestational age (GA) with an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled device for first-trimester pregnancies, according to a study published online Aug. 1 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Sepsis occurs when one's immune system has an extreme response to an infection. It's a life-threatening condition: globally, it accounts for about 11 million deaths—20% of all deaths per year.

During World Breastfeeding Week, a new international study, published in Microbiome, has revealed that the first drops of breast milk are crucial for healthy growth at birth and can help combat chronic undernutrition, which affects 200 million children and causes more than 3 million deaths annually worldwide.

Australian national data show First Nations women face almost twice the risk of stillbirth or "sorry business babies" compared to non-First Nations women.

Led by Morgan State University, a coalition of colleges across the nation is researching maternal health disparities. The Baltimore university will coordinate its efforts and those of 15 other schools, almost all of which serve a large percentage of minority students.

An innovative co-designed model of care to help elevate the role of nurses in contraceptive and medical abortion care in rural and regional areas has been developed as part of the landmark ORIENT study.

Former US First Lady Michelle Obama revealed in her memoir she had a miscarriage. UK singer-songwriter and actor Lily Allen has gone on the record about her stillbirth.

In a recent study by researchers from the universities of Cologne and Düsseldorf as well as University Hospital Bonn, mothers across Germany were asked how they rated their experiences of "own capacity," "professional support," "perceived safety" and "participation" during their birthing experience eight to 12 months after having given birth.

In the first study of its kind, researchers at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin have shown that it is safe for first-time mothers to spend the first 24 hours of induced low-risk labor in the comfort of their own homes.

In Canada, rates of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have increased, but the good news is there has been a decline in some related health conditions, according to new research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

Researchers in Australia have found that when women are given accurate information about a test that indicates the number of eggs in their ovaries, they have less interest in taking the test compared to women who viewed information available online.

In 2016, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to deport thousands of immigrants. His anti-immigration message vilified foreign-born people living in the U.S. as criminals and rapists. Besides making good on many harsh, immigration-related promises, the years after his election stoked the anxieties of millions of people.

Some private UK biobanks may be misleading expectant parents about the value of storing umbilical cord blood to treat life-threatening diseases that may arise in their child in the future, reveals an investigation by The BMJ.

There's a slight but significant rise in dangerous obstetric complications for pregnant women who use marijuana, new research shows.

The first time Tammy and Jordan Myers held their twins, the premature babies were so fragile that their tiny faces were mostly covered by oxygen masks and tubing. Their little hands rested gently on Tammy's chest as the machines keeping them alive in a neonatal intensive care unit in Grand Rapids, Michigan, beeped and hummed around them.

Rural regions like the one surrounding a southern Iowa town used to have a lot more babies, and many more places to give birth to them.

Jeanine Valrie Logan sat in traffic for nearly two hours while she was in labor with her third child.

Studies show that social distancing and other public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic effectively reduced the spread of the deadly virus. However, they had unanticipated effects such as reduced health care accessibility and utilization, especially in high-risk populations.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Dartmouth College have discovered a connection between toddler hair cortisol levels—a long-term stress biomarker—and maternal prenatal depression.

A comprehensive scoping review led by McMaster University researchers provides the first map of the field of Maternal and Infant Health (MIH) research in Morocco over a span of 22 years, from 2000 to 2022 and suggests a different way to study global health.

A randomized controlled trial looked at in-vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes in the UK and Hong Kong. The results, published in The Lancet, provide much-needed evidence that using time-lapse imaging (TLI) does not improve treatment outcomes for someone undergoing fertility treatment.

Ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, even more women have struggled to find reproductive care, a new report warns.

Britain's largest ever study of egg freezing, which followed up the outcome of almost 30,000 eggs frozen at the London Women's Clinic, shows that success rates are comparable to those achieved by routine IVF and subject to the same variables of female age and embryo quality.

Neither COVID-19 infection nor vaccination during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with increased risk of major birth defects, finds a study from Scandinavia published by The BMJ today.

Hydrogels have a variety of use cases, including contact lenses, delivering doses of medication within the body, moisturizers, water storage in soil, cleaning polluted water and as gelling and thickening agents. A hydrogel is a gel made of a type of plastic that can bind water.

Immigrants make up nearly 16% of Philadelphia's population of 1.6 million, according to a 2024 report from Pew Charitable Trusts. Pew reports this marks the largest percentage since the 1940s, and above the national percentage of 13.9%.

Despite treatment-related fertility challenges, female patients can become pregnant and give birth to healthy children after undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT), according to a study published in Blood.

According to current understanding, menstrual cramps only happen in cycles in which an egg is released, or an ovulatory cycle. But new research from the University of British Columbia (UBC) is challenging this notion.

Women who have close family members with endocrine diseases--including type 2 diabetes, thyroid diseases and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)--are at higher risk of pregnancy loss, a new study has found.

Among women who have been diagnosed with uterine fibroids, more than half (53%) were presented with a hysterectomy, while fewer than one in five (20%) were presented with other less invasive options such as over-the-counter NSAIDs (19%), uterine fibroid embolization (17%), oral contraceptives (17%), and endometrial ablation (17%), according to new survey data by The Harris Poll on behalf of the So

Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, more Americans think their state should allow a woman to get a legal abortion for any reason, a new poll finds.

Colorado's Medicaid program now covers doula care for all pregnant and postpartum members, but advocates don't expect to see an immediate improvement in maternal health.

Novel research presented at the ESHRE 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam reveals significant social disparities in achieving live births following assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment. Women with a research education (Ph.D.) were over three times more likely to achieve a live birth compared to those with a primary school education, while women in the highest income group were twice as li

Innovative research, presented today at the ESHRE 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam, has introduced a novel 3D imaging model designed to identify features of blastocysts—the early stage of development for an implanted embryo—associated with successful pregnancies. This new approach could transform current blastocyst selection methods, and open avenues for increased pregnancy rates.

Women in Europe are receiving more cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI), according to data presented today at the ESHRE 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam.

Mitochondria are tiny structures in cells that convert the food we eat into the energy our cells need to function.

Vaccinating mothers against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during late pregnancy to protect their newborns is not associated with an increased risk of preterm birth or other poor outcomes, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators. Infants are particularly vulnerable to the virus which can cause a serious lower respiratory illness.

A pioneering study, presented at the ESHRE 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam, has revealed that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) prior to the retrieval of oocytes (eggs) during in vitro fertilization (IVF) can reduce the odds of achieving a live birth by almost 40%.

Pregnant women enrolled in a federal aid program have better outcomes than those who are struggling to put food on the table, new research shows.

When chemistry professor Samantha Gateman realized there was no non-hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) on the market without significant side effects, she became inspired to make a change.

Sexually active adolescents seeking care in the emergency department have a high risk for pregnancy, and the emergency department may provide a feasible environment to offer contraception counseling, according to a study published online June 28 in JAMA Network Open.

A 30-minute sauna or warm bubble bath every day might help women of a certain age fend off unwanted weight gain.

When you're an elite athlete, the stakes are high. But add pregnancy to the mix and the challenges can rise—not only from mixed messages about the safety of training while pregnant, but also from a lack of support from coaches, health practitioners, and governing bodies.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Mental Health Innovation have identified why increased adiposity, or the amount of fat in the body, during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk for mental health disorders in offspring.

A new technology developed by the "Bioengineering in Reproductive Health" team at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) is able to visualize the metabolism of embryos obtained through in vitro fertilization in order to decide which are most likely to implant correctly in the uterus and reaching full-term. It is a more accurate and reliable technique than traditional methods.

Female cyclists have overwhelmingly reported that menstrual symptoms affect their training and competitive performance, but according to new research, these factors are sometimes managed alone and not adequately relayed to and/or considered by coaches and training staff.

Maternal use of quit smoking medicine aligns with current clinical advice, but low completion rates of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) may mean that pregnant women need more support to successfully quit smoking, a review of prescription medicine data has revealed.

More than 1,700 pregnant women in South Australia have reportedly been given the wrong "due date" due to a technical error in their computerized medical records. This has prompted concerns some women may have had an early induction of labor as a result.

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are a highly effective and long-lasting form of birth control placed in the uterus. Research shows that many people who get IUDs experience moderate to intense pain during the insertion. But it wasn't until recently that providers began to acknowledge this and do something about it.

Children conceived by using egg or sperm donors have the same well-being outcomes as non-donor-conceived people. However, they are more likely to have identity difficulties and issues with trust, says a new study.

More than one in 10 households in the United States last year did not have access to adequate and nutritious food, according to the U.S. government. Further, food and nutrition insecurity lead to a higher risk of poor pregnancy outcomes.

A proposed framework by La Trobe University's Judith Lumley Center, in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, is challenging traditional categorizations of coping strategies in a bid to promote autonomy and create empowering childbirth experiences that are aligned to women's individual preferences and values.

Women residing in states with the most restrictive abortion policies after the Supreme Court's reversal of "Roe v Wade" also experienced declines in the use of birth control pills and emergency contraceptives, according to a new USC study evaluating the impact of the decision.

Women experiencing opioid-use disorders may face unique challenges accessing treatment, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The study—published in the journal Women's Health—provides new insight into how pregnancy and parenting can make getting medications for these disorders particularly difficult.

A program guaranteeing income for pregnant residents of three Philadelphia neighborhoods launched on Monday in a city-led effort to decrease infant mortality rates that are higher here than in any other major city.

More than 85% of women—and more than 300 million people worldwide at any given time—use hormonal contraceptives for at least five years of their life. Although primarily taken for birth control, many people also use hormonal contraceptives to manage a variety of symptoms related to menstruation, from cramps and acne to mood swings.

Though exposure to "trace" (an extremely small amount) elements has been shown to affect ovarian functions in experimental studies, there has been little research on the impact of trace levels of non-essential elements, such as lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg), on female reproduction. Studies have shown that high levels of these non-essential elements may lead to decreased female fertility and reduce th

Following state legislation passed in 2021 that essentially banned abortion in Texas, the rate of infant deaths rose by almost 13%, compared to a much smaller 1.8% rise nationwide, a new study finds.

An unexpectedly versatile and regenerative stem cell in early embryos may be key to creating new effective fertility treatments, suggests a new study in mice from the University of Copenhagen.

A new study reveals inadequacies in menstrual health education provision in English schools. Findings highlight a lack of practical information being offered, pupils being taught too late, and attitudes that perpetuate stigma. The research is published in Women's Reproductive Health.

Abortion care providers in North Carolina report spending more time on administrative tasks, voice frustration with new required consent forms, have feelings of anxiety and burnout, and fear for the future pipeline of providers since the state adopted regulations in 2023 limiting abortion care, according to a new RAND report.

In October 2018, Canada enacted the Cannabis Act in Canada (CAC), which legalized the non-medical use of cannabis. A new study has found that the rate of cannabis-related disorders diagnosed among pregnant women in the Canadian province of Québec increased by more than 20% after the enactment of the CAC, while rates for all other drug- and alcohol-related disorders remained stable. The study is pu

Mothers whose pregnancies span two calendar years could face higher out-of-pocket costs for maternity care simply because of when they became pregnant, according to a USC study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.

Pregnant women who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 are less likely to have a cesarean section or experience hypertension, according to a study.

New research from Monash University has found substantial variation in prenatal screening across Australia, with health care professionals reporting ongoing challenges in providing equitable access and pretest counseling.

Opioid overdoses for pregnant patients are at an all-time high in the United States, even as overall numbers are improving. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly correlated with substance use disorders, yet treatment protocols to help expecting parents manage opioid use disorders and ADHD together are essentially nonexistent.

Babies born after exposure to famine in-utero show signs of accelerated aging six decades later, according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center. The effects of famine were consistently larger for women and near zero for men. The results are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Early-stage cervical cancer patients see better survival and decreased recurrence rates after open radical hysterectomy than minimally invasive laparoscopic approaches, according to a five-year study led by Houston Methodist researchers and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

A mother's contribution to the makeup of a newborn baby's microbiota has been well documented. Now a paper published June 12 in Cell Host & Microbe shows the important contributions that fathers make to the composition of microorganisms colonizing a baby's gut as well.

In the United States, an estimated 58,000 pregnant women enter correctional facilities each year, with many presumed innocent while awaiting trial. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has profound implications for them.

New research confirms that for women with an uncomplicated pregnancy, having a waterbirth is as safe as leaving the water before birth. The research, "Maternal and neonatal outcomes among spontaneous vaginal births occurring in or out of water following intrapartum water immersion: The POOL cohort study," was published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

Immune activation in a pregnant woman can have negative effects on the development of fetal brain microglia—or macrophage immune cells in the brain—and even lead to neurodevelopmental disorders in newborns.

An international research collaboration conducting a comprehensive review of studies from across the globe has reaffirmed that magnesium sulfate, a medication widely used during pregnancy, significantly reduces the risk of cerebral palsy and death for very preterm babies.

In a new study, researchers from Yale and 11 other institutions found "no association between COVID-19 vaccination and stillbirth."

A review of existing research shows there is a growing benefit to using specialist scanning to diagnose endometriosis. The paper is published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Many women are unhappy with the state of U.S. maternal health care, but a major new poll finds most Americans don't understand how badly the nation lags behind other wealthy countries in this area.

A lifesaving package including early detection and bundled treatment for women who have heavy bleeding during childbirth has been found to incur minimal additional cost according to new analysis from 78 hospitals around the world.

Treatment options for those suffering from endometriosis are currently few, but research at Umeå University provides new opportunities to understand the disease. A new thesis answers the question of how cells, which are normally found inside the uterus, can gain a foothold in the abdomen and evade the immune system. The results can hopefully contribute to new treatments.

Why are babies born prematurely? Researchers still don't really know.

Urinary incontinence affects millions of women, especially those in the senior age bracket. According to the Mayo Clinic, as many as 50% of women experience some form of leakage, and that number rises to around 75% in women over the age of 65.

Exposure to some endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that harm the thyroid gland has increased over the past 20 years among U.S. women of childbearing age and pregnant women, especially among those with lower social and economic status, a new study finds. The results are presented at ENDO 2024, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Boston, Mass.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) has been identified as one of the many unmet needs in women's health and affects more than 25% of reproductive-aged women. It is caused by pathogenic bacteria that push the healthy microbiomes in the female vagina and cervix—the small gatekeeper canal that connects the uterus and vagina—into a state of imbalance known as dysbiosis.

Florida has become the first state to allow doctors to perform cesarean sections outside of hospitals, siding with a private equity-owned physicians group that says the change will lower costs and give pregnant women the homier birthing atmosphere that many desire.

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) economists have investigated social influences on the menstrual hygiene of workers in Bangladesh.

Every year, medical diagnostics get better and better thanks to the tremendous development of new methods that enable the precise detection of the many different molecules present in biological fluids during an infection. Nevertheless, the rapid and even real-time analysis of bacterial, fungal or viral infections is still far from ideal, which is why many efforts are being made around the world to

More out-of-state women, largely from Texas and Alaska, are traveling to Washington state to obtain an abortion than were doing so before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion, according to research published today in JAMA Network Open.

Pelvic health is crucial to a woman's overall well-being but is often misunderstood or overlooked. When symptoms such as urinary incontinence, pain or discomfort, or pain during intercourse occur, they are dismissed as a byproduct of pregnancy and childbirth or just something that comes with age like arthritis.

The average age at menarche—the first menstrual period—has been decreasing among younger generations in the U.S., especially those belonging to racial minorities and lower socioeconomic statuses, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It also found that the average time it takes for the menstrual cycle to become regular is increasing.

A recent study has uncovered a troubling link between exposure to PM2.5 air pollution during pregnancy and the risk of low birth weight in newborns. This study highlights the significant impact of air quality on prenatal development and emphasizes the urgent need for stricter air pollution controls. The research team includes Hebrew University's School of Public Health and Hadassah Medical Center

A new study shows that hyperandrogenism—a key characteristic of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—affects immune cell populations in reproductive, metabolic and immunological tissues in a PCOS-like mouse model.

The increased frequency and intensity of heat waves due to climate change puts women at a higher risk of experiencing preterm and early-term labor—jeopardizing the health and well-being of their babies.

Louisiana has become the first state to pass a law that designates abortion pills as dangerous controlled substances.

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry has shown that nurse-led oral hygiene education has been proved to reduce gingival inflammation in pregnant women. The findings are published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health.

Children who were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) while in the womb or as newborn babies may face greater difficulties with social skills and have more respiratory symptoms than non-exposed children, according to a new University of Bristol-led study published in eClinicalMedicine.

Earlier this year, revelations surfaced indicating that women who freeze their eggs are being misled by some U.K. clinics about their chances of having a baby. Now a recent investigation from Queen Mary University of London, sheds light on the disparities in information provision regarding Time-lapse Imaging (TLI) on U.K. fertility clinic websites.

Late 2023, geneticist Marlena Fejzo and colleagues made the discovery that morning sickness's most serious presentation, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), is caused by the hormone GDF15, not human chorionic gonadotropin as previously thought. In an opinion article published May 22 in the journal Trends in Molecular Medicine, Fejzo dispels common morning sickness myths and discusses potential treatments

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Warwick has unveiled crucial insights into the complex factors shaping vaccination decisions among pregnant women, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dramatic decline in childhood mortality during the 20th century has added a full year to women's lives, according to a new study.

If during a pregnancy a fetus grows below normal thresholds, at each week of gestation there is an increased risk that some of its organs may not develop properly, which can adversely affect the baby's health after birth. The life-long effects of restricted fetal growth on brain and cardiovascular development have been the subject of much research, but there is a lack of scientific evidence on its

Heather Crivilare was a month from her due date when she was rushed to an operating room for an emergency cesarean section.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago, paving the way for states to usher in new restrictions on abortion, doctors started seeing more young adults seeking vasectomies or getting their tubes tied, emerging research has found.

A woman's egg reserve is finite. Gonad-damaging therapies, such as certain chemotherapies, can therefore lead to infertility. One of the options for preserving fertility is the cryopreservation of ovarian tissue. This involves removing and freezing part of the ovary before a so-called gonadotoxic therapy. This can later be thawed and reimplanted so that undamaged eggs can be returned to the body.

Though their states severely restrict abortion or place limits on having one through telehealth, about 8,000 women per month late last year were getting abortion pills by mail from states with legal protections for prescribers, a new survey finds.

A study by the University of Cambridge, UK, and Fudan University, China, has found that a single dose of the measles jab is up to 2.6 times more likely to be completely ineffective in children born by C-section, compared to those born naturally. The results are published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

Fewer U.S. medical school graduates are applying to residency programs, but the drop is more striking in states that ban abortion compared with other states.

When the Arizona Supreme Court ruled on April 9, 2024, that the state's Civil War-era law banning nearly all abortions was enforceable, it brought into stark reality the potential impacts of leaving reproductive rights up to the states to regulate, and the related consequences for women's health.

In one of the first studies of its kind, UC Santa Barbara researchers have found that the immune status of postpartum mothers shifts with how she feeds her baby. According to a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, certain inflammatory proteins—substances that are secreted as part of an immune response—peak at different times of day, correlating with whether the mothers breastfeed, pu

A recent review article provides critical insights into the management of acute agitation in reproductive-age females and during pregnancy within the emergency departments (EDs). The study emphasizes the importance of considering the safety of psychotropic medications in this demographic population, given the potential risks to both the patient and the fetus.

A growing number of states and territories in the United States have legalized medical and recreational cannabis use. As such, recreational cannabis has been associated with a lower perception of risk of harm in the general U.S. population.

In a new study, Oregon Health & Science University researchers report that combined cannabis and nicotine use during pregnancy is associated with significantly higher risk of poor health outcomes for newborns compared with use of either substance alone.

A cesarean section is an important surgical intervention that can save the lives of mother and baby. Cesarean sections are essential in complicated labors such as prolonged or obstructed labor or if the baby is distressed.

More than half of women who smoke before pregnancy quit while pregnant, according to research published in the May 2 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

An alternative method of transferring blood cells to weakened newborns through their umbilical cord does not carry long-term neurodevelopmental risks compared to standard practice, a recent study found. The research will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2024 Meeting, held May 2–6 in Toronto.

When its six-week abortion ban went into effect on May 1, 2024, Florida joined nearly two dozen other U.S. states that ban abortion or greatly restrict it.

The US maternal mortality rate in 2022 returned to the same level as two years prior, after a spike in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, health authorities announced Thursday.

New research has turned up another reason for women to avoid smoking during pregnancy. A recent study published in the journal Gut Microbes has found an association between mothers smoking during pregnancy and a higher risk of their children becoming overweight or obese.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) affects about one-quarter of reproductive-age women and is linked to adverse health outcomes, such as increased HIV risk. Yet for decades, BV treatment in the United States has largely relied on antibiotics, and BV recurrence is common following antibiotic therapy.

Deciding to have an abortion is a deeply personal choice, and so is what comes next: determining the type of abortion that's best for you.

As the battle over abortion continues to rage in the courts and American politics, a new report estimates that one in every four U.S. women will undergo the procedure during their lifetime.

New research led by Western Sydney University has shown that treatment of gestational diabetes from early pregnancy can not only reduce birth complications among babies and mothers, but can also reduce health costs by up to 10%.

A new study from the University of Bergen and the University of Exeter shows that pregnant women who quit smoking may prevent an abnormal mismatch between the weight of the placenta and the growth of the fetus.

Routine nutrition interventions to support moderate- to late-preterm infants until full nutrition with mother's breast milk does not impact outcomes, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

With the creation of safe and efficacious vaccines to target human papillomavirus in the first decade of this century, WHO has an ambitious target to lower cervical cancer incidence (mostly caused by HPV) and mortality by 30% by 2030, meaning each country has a target of vaccinating 90% of girls by age 15, 70% of women receiving a high precision screening test at least at age 35 and 45 years of ag

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered in a preclinical model that cytokines, proteins that control immune response, circulating in maternal blood during pregnancy may mitigate an offspring's risk for psychiatric conditions. The findings are surprising because circulating maternal cytokines are at such low levels that they were not implicated in fetal brain development and offspring

In a paper published in Science Bulletin, a Chinese team of scientists presented a global study of over 10,000 microbiome samples from pregnant women and mapped links between maternal microbiomes and pregnancy disorders.

In the era after the introduction of publicly funded in vitro fertilization (IVF) mandating elective single embryo transfer, the multifetal pregnancy rate decreased significantly for IVF, but the contribution of ovulation induction and intrauterine insemination (OI/IUI) to multifetal pregnancy still needs attention, according to a new study from ICES and Queen's University.

Compared to their civilian counterparts, excessive pregnancy weight gain is more frequent among military health care beneficiaries, in particular active duty personnel, and is associated with costly maternal/neonatal complications. Women in this sample with excessive pregnancy weight gain were also three times more likely to have substantial postpartum weight retention, according to a new study pu

Active military service may heighten a woman's risk of having a low birthweight baby, suggests a review of the available scientific evidence published online in the journal BMJ Military Health.

Low birth rates have become a serious problem in many developed countries throughout the world, with Japan being a prime example. In Japan particularly, aging and stress have led to a massive rise in infertility, which now affects one in every 4.4 couples.

A surprising thing is happening to some women on weight-loss drugs who've struggled with fertility issues: They're getting pregnant. That's leading to questions about the safety of medications from Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. during pregnancy.

Researchers from St George's, University of London have identified key barriers to vaccine uptake for whooping cough, flu and COVID-19 in pregnant women, and outline recommendations for addressing vaccine hesitancy. The results are from the first review of its kind and are published in the journal PLOS ONE.

A new study published in Pain from the University of South Australia is putting people's experiences of pelvic pain at the front of pain education to develop better pain management strategies and improved outcomes.

In recent years, media and social networks have brought to light growing denunciations of obstetric and gynecological care that is considered violent, disrespectful, abusive or neglectful. These behaviors, words, acts and omissions are known as obstetric and gynecological violence (OGV).

Severe morning sickness in pregnancy, known medically as hyperemesis gravidarum, can negatively affect both maternal and infant health. A review published in Canadian Medical Association Journal provides information to clinicians on the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of the condition.

Sterilization rates abruptly spiked after the national right to an abortion was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2022, a study said Friday.

Midwives are in a prime position to help support pregnant women to stop or cut down on alcohol and other drug use and to improve outcomes for the women and their children.

A woman begins losing blood during childbirth. Some vaginal bleeding is normal, but is it too much?

Increasing midwifery continuity of care has been identified as a key priority for maternity services in the United Kingdom (UK). Published today in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, a study led by Professor Jane Sandall and colleagues, which builds on previous research, compares how outcomes for women and their babies who received a midwife continuity of care model differed from other model

Companies have increasingly offered generous fertility benefits to attract and keep top-notch workers. Now, the federal government is getting in on the act. Starting this year, federal employees can choose plans that cover several fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for in vitro fertilization procedures and up to three artificial insemination cycles each year.

The introduction of a policy protecting parental leave benefits in Sweden in 1980 had unintended consequences on child health. The policy led to an increase in premature birth rates. This is shown by a study from researchers at Stockholm University, published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Labor induction with vaginal misoprostol during childbirth achieves vaginal delivery rates similar to the oral alternative while significantly reducing the need for oxytocin, the most commonly used labor-inducing drug, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

Niklas Björkström's research group at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) has conducted a study that provides new knowledge about how the immune system in the uterus works. This knowledge contributes to a better understanding of how pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia occur.

The birth rate in the United States was essentially unchanged from 2021 to 2022, according to the April 4 National Vital Statistics Reports.

In a small, investigator-initiated Phase II study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators, a novel combination of an antibody-drug conjugate and an immune checkpoint inhibitor showed notable activity in pre-treated patients with a difficult-to-treat form of endometrial cancer. In this study, tumors were reduced in six out of 16 patients treated with the combination, including one case in whi

A new "atlas" of the human ovary provides insights that could lead to treatments restoring ovarian hormone production and the ability to have biologically related children, according to University of Michigan engineers.

Increasing numbers of pregnant women in Norway are overweight. Heidi Sandsæter has studied what overweight and obese pregnant women perceive as the cause of this trend.

Lack of respectful maternity care in the U.S. culminating in mistreatment in childbirth is a regular occurrence, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Yet until now experiences of this mistreatment had not been widely documented in the United States. The findings are published in JAMA Network Open.

University of New Mexico researchers have found that even low to moderate alcohol use by pregnant patients may contribute to subtle changes in their babies' prenatal development, including lower birth length and a shorter duration of gestation.

Florida's Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a ban on abortion after just six weeks of pregnancy, even as it allowed an abortion rights amendment to be on the ballot in November.

The guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy in obese women have long been questioned. New research from Karolinska Institutet supports the idea of lowering or removing the current recommendation of a weight gain of at least 5 kg. The results are published in The Lancet.

The majority of childbearing-age people would value predictive testing for preeclampsia and report they would act on this information, according to a study published online March 13 in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.

Researchers from the Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research (IOI) and Cardiff University have found evidence that bacteria resistant to colistin, a last-resort antibiotic, were present in mothers and babies under a week old in Nigeria in 2016, despite limited clinical use of colistin at that time in the country. The findings have been published in Nature Communications.

In the United States, community health centers (CHCs) mainly serve historically marginalized populations. New research reveals that both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, females receiving care at rural CHCs were less likely to be up to date with cervical cancer screening than those in urban CHCs.

A multicomponent intervention improves health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for women with moderate-to-severe overactive bladder, according to a study published online March 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Living in neighborhoods where residents have lower incomes and limited food access during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of babies born small for gestational age or with lower birthweight, according to a new study from the NIH Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

The world is approaching a low-fertility future. Although by 2100 more than 97% of countries and territories will have fertility rates below what is necessary to sustain population size over time, comparatively high fertility rates in numerous low-income countries, predominantly in western and eastern sub-Saharan Africa, will continue to drive population increases in these locations throughout the

Getting screened for cervical cancer isn't fun. And getting an alert that your initial exam showed a potential sign of trouble, and that you need to go back for a test or procedure to rule out cancer, is even less fun.

Early intervention with a minimally invasive treatment called uterine artery embolization (UAE) can help women avoid hysterectomy due to severe bleeding after childbirth, according to a new study being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology Annual Scientific Meeting held March 23–28 in Salt Lake City.

The onset of menstruation is an impactful milestone as a marker of the start of reproductive potential and as a social cue for transitioning further into adolescence. Although the first period is often confusing, can trigger embarrassment, and is frequently laden with stigma, timely guidance can empower patients to advocate for their health throughout life, according to a paper at Columbia Univers

A new paper in Rheumatology finds that rheumatic diseases can lead to reproductive problems, though some conditions have more detrimental effects than others.

A study aiming to assess an innovative "SMARTeeth" program that provides a digital tool-enabled oral health screening for underserved pregnant women at an obstetric office facilitated by community health workers (CHWs) was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Res

Direct potable reuse (DPR) water systems add purified wastewater directly to a water distribution system, instead of first passing water through an environmental buffer such as a lake or reservoir. These systems are being considered in some water-stressed regions across the U.S. to address water shortages. However, little is known about the health outcomes of people who receive DPR drinking water.