NICHD News Releases

Scientific Vision: The Next Decade
The NICHD embarked upon a collaborative process in 2011 to create a scientific Vision, identifying the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and its partners to pursue over the next decade. The newly published Scientific Vision statement presents the results of that process and outlines scientific goals for the coming decade.

NICHD reorganizes extramural program
​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

NICHD vision statement now available online
A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

Research for a Lifetime: Commemorating the NICHD’s 50th Anniversary
On October 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the legislation establishing the NICHD to examine “the complex process of human development from conception to old age.” The Institute marks its golden anniversary with Research for a Lifetime, an all-day scientific colloquium to highlight the Institute’s mission, accomplishments, and future research directions.

Hormonal Contraception Does Not Appear to Increase HIV Risk
Using hormonal contraception does not appear to increase women's overall risk of infection with the AIDS virus, report the authors of a large study commissioned by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

Bone Density Appears to Recover After Adolescents Discontinue Injected Contraceptive
Lower bone density appears to recover in adolescent females once they stop using the injected contraceptive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

Enzyme Essential To Sperm Movement Provides Target for New Contraceptive Approach
A team of researchers has determined that an enzyme in sperm is necessary for sperm movement. Mice bred to lack this enzyme produce sperm that cannot swim toward egg cells to fertilize them.

Depo Provera Appears to Increase Risk for Chlamydial & Gonococcal Infections
The injectable contraceptive depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) appears to increase a woman's risk of acquiring the sexually transmitted infections chlamydia and gonorrhea by approximately three fold when compared to women not using a hormonal contraceptive, according to a study jointly funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Population and Reproductive Health.

NICHD Study Finds No Association Between Oral Contraceptive Use & Breast Cancer For Women from 35 to 64
Women between the ages of 35 and 64 who took oral contraceptives at some point in their lives are no more likely to develop breast cancer than are other women the same age, according to findings from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Women's Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study (Women's CARE).

Few Women Regret Sterilization Procedures
Few of the women who undergo tubal sterilization or whose husbands undergo vasectomy later go on to regret either procedure, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

NIH Awards Additional Funding for New Researchers in Women's Reproductive Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $3.2 million to fund centers that will support early research careers in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

Four Million Dollars Awarded for New Researchers in Women’s Health
To help advance research in women's reproductive health, twelve centers have been awarded a total of $4 million to support early research careers in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.