01. Nicotine gum for pregnant smokers
Chewing nicotine gum may not help pregnant women stop smoking, but it may help them cut back and may cut their risk of having a premature baby or a low-birthweight baby.
Read | 02. Breast feeding helps development
Greater maternal consumption of fish and longer periods of breast-feeding are tied to better physical and cognitive development in infants, according to a new study.
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03. Toddlers focus may predict autism
Scientists have found that 2- year-olds with autism looked more at the mouths of others and less at their eyes than average toddlers, which may predict the level of disability.
Read | 04. Fertility treatment may impact IQ
A small study suggests that children conceived using a fertility technique called ICSI may have slightly lower IQ scores than children conceived naturally or with IVF.
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05. Schizophrenia risk in stressed moms
The incidence of schizophrenia was increased in the offspring of mothers who were in the early stages of pregnancy during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, according to findings.
Read | 06. Moms diabetes ups risk of defects
Pregnant women with diabetes are at increased risk of having a child with multiple birth defects, new research confirms.
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07. Antidepros reduce male fertility
Common antidepressant drugs may reduce some men's fertility by damaging the DNA in their sperm, according to scientists.
Read | 08. Exercise helps pregnant smokers
Physical exertion may help pregnant women stop smoking after two small studies showed a quarter of women who exercised regularly while expecting a baby quit smoking.
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09. Babies suffer strokes too
Strokes aren't something that just happens in the elderly; they can even strike an infant still in the womb.
Read | 10. Busy highways bad for babies
Living near a highway increases a woman's risk of having a low birth-weight baby, according to a study of almost 100 000 live births in Montreal between 1997 and 2001.
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11. Cellphone use may affect baby
Children whose mothers used cell phones frequently during pregnancy, and who are themselves cell phone users are more likely to have behaviour problems, new research shows.
Read | 12. Heated seats affect male fertility
Heated seats may be a little too hot for men by significantly increasing their scrotal temperature - which may impact their fertility.
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13. Infertility treatments ineffective?
A drug taken by millions of women in recent decades to improve the chances of conceiving a child yields the same results as no treatment at all, according to a study.
Read | 14. Single-egg IVF just as good
Fertility experts got egg on their faces with the discovery that practices that result in problematic multiple births are, after all, totally unnecessary.
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15. Having twins is cheaper?
A US researcher's argument that twins should be the goal of in vitro fertilisation drew opposition from many researchers on Monday who warned of the risks of multiple pregnancies.
Read | 16. Africa to get cheap IVF procedure
Doctors are preparing to introduce a cheap IVF procedure across Africa, where women often are ostracised as witches or social outcasts if they cannot have children.
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17. Men over 40 less fertile
Startling evidence has emerged from a new study showing that the older the father of a baby is, the greater the chances of a miscarriage.
Read | 18. IVF success may be predicted
Researchers have identified a method that can predict with 70 percent accuracy whether a woman undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment will become pregnant.
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19. Fans may prevent baby death
Just keeping the air moving around a bedroom seems to dramatically reduce a baby's risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), new research suggests.
Read | 20. Parents affect child stress risk
Genes may influence a child's ability to deal with stress in infancy, but parenting can change the impact of genes that may put infants at risk for responding poorly to stress.
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21. Breastfeeding great stress buster
Children who are breast-fed seem to cope with stress and anxiety more effectively when they reach school age.
Read | 22. Belly fat ups birth defects
Women who are obese before they become pregnant may be at increased risk of having a baby with brain and spinal cord defects, especially if they put on weight around the waist.
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23. Control asthma in pregnancy
Women with inadequately treated asthma during pregnancy are at increased risk for premature delivery, according to a new study.
Read | 24. Breastfeeding boosts weightloss
New moms may be better able to return to their pre-pregnancy weight by exclusively breastfeeding their infants, according to new research.
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25. Pregnancy mood impacts development
Some of the harmful effects on early child development attributed to postpartum depression may be caused in part by depression during pregnancy, a UK study shows.
Read | 26. Natural birth= more responsive mom
A study has found that mothers who delivered vaginally compared to caesarean section delivery were significantly more responsive to the cry of their own baby.
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27. Vit D recommendations doubled?
Paediatricians in the US say children from newborns to teens should get double the usually recommended amount of vitamin D.
Read | 28. Pregnancy weight = kids' weight
Women who gain too much weight during pregnancy may not only have bigger babies, but bigger teenagers as well, a study suggests.
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29. Placebo acupuncture better for IVF
A study has found that placebo acupuncture led to significantly more pregnancies among women who underwent in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) than those who received real acupuncture.
Read | 30. Active pregnant women healthier
Women who exercise throughout pregnancy tend to stay healthier for decades, research shows.
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31. Weight-loss surgery helps pregnancy
Women who get pregnant after weight-loss surgery tend to be healthier and less likely to deliver a baby born with complications compared to obese women, researchers said.
Read | 32. Hairspray ups birth defect risk
Women exposed to hairspray during pregnancy may be more likely to give birth to boys with a genital defect.
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33. Aquarobics makes delivery easier
A course of water aerobics classes has been shown to reduce the amount of pain-killing medication women request during labour.
Read | 34. Smart men=better sperm
Data from US veterans suggests that smarter men produce greater quantities of more agile sperm.
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35. Sperm size isn't everything
Contrary to common scientific belief, the length of a sperm's tail does not always determine how fast it can swim.
Read | 36. Shorter cycles, lower fertility
As a woman's menstrual cycle shortens with advancing age, her odds of becoming pregnant decreases.
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37. Blood tests for inherited diseases
Doctors may soon be able to diagnose inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis, thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia in foetuses by simply testing a blood sample from the mother.
Read | 38. Pollen months up asthma risk
Infants exposed to high levels of pollen and mold in their first few months of life are more likely to develop wheezing - a possible early symptom of asthma, say US researchers.
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39. Post-birth bleeding a big threat
Post-partum haemorrhage immediately after giving birth is the largest threat to new mothers in high-income countries, a study has found.
Read | 40. Oestrogen to blame for RLS
A study indicates that oestrogen plays an important role in triggering restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy.
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41. Migraine ups BP risk in pregnancy
Research suggests that women who suffer migraines are at risk for developing high blood pressure during pregnancy as well as preeclampsia.
Read | 42. Gesturing babies, big vocabulary
Babies who use many gestures to communicate when they are 14 months-old have much larger vocabularies when they start school than those who don't, US researchers claim.
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43. Psychosis risk greatest after birth
New moms are in the greatest danger of developing psychotic illness in the first month after they give birth, a new study in hundreds of thousands of women shows.
Read | 44. Vit E may up heart defect in baby
Women who are recently pregnant should watch how much vitamin E consume as high levels early in pregnancy may increase the risk of the baby being born with a heart defect.
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45. Preterm birth, lasting effects
Researchers have found that many 12-year-olds who were born prematurely with a very low birth weight have lower IQs and more developmental problems than others born at term.
Read | 46. Pacifier shortens breastfeeding
Mothers who want to breastfeed their baby successfully may want to hold off on giving their infant a pacifier, new research from Denmark shows.
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47. Crying baby:cause often not serious
A study has shown that when a baby cries excessively for no apparent reason the problem is likely to be serious in only about one in 20 cases.
Read | 48. Preemie birth ups moms heart risk
Giving birth prematurely or delivering a small-for-gestational-age baby are both associated with a later risk of cardiovascular disease in the mother, according to two studies.
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49. Time dulls memory of labour pain
It would appear that time does indeed numb pain, or at least the memory of it. Research shows that for some women, the memory of the intensity of labour pain declines over time.
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