NICHD News Releases

2012 Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Annual Report
One of the largest intramural divisions within the NIH, the NICHD’s DIR studies a diverse range of topics from molecular and cellular processes, to developmental endocrinology and genetics, to obstetric and perinatal research, to pediatric imaging. These and other research areas are the focus of the 2012 DIR Annual Report.

Just in Time for Mother’s Day: Let the Baby Set the Delivery Date!
The NICHD’s National Child and Maternal Health Education Program and its coordinating committee members unite to let mothers know that they should wait until at least 39 weeks to deliver their babies unless medically necessary.

XLNT! The Text4baby Program Celebrates 3 Years
In only a few years, the text4baby program has grown to more than 500,000 subscribers. This evidenced-based text messaging service allows for new moms and new moms-to-be to get timely health information and encourages them to follow prenatal and postnatal care recommendations.

Carrying Pregnancy to 39 Weeks: Is It Worth It? Yes!
New videos from the NICHD’s National Child and Maternal Health Education Program explain why it’s important not to induce labor for nonmedical reasons before 39 weeks of pregnancy. Find out why it’s worth it for both mother and baby.

Benefits of higher oxygen, breathing device persist after infancy
By the time they reached toddlerhood, very preterm infants originally treated with higher oxygen levels continued to show benefits when compared to a group treated with lower oxygen levels, according to a follow-up study by a research network of the National Institutes of Health that confirms earlier network findings, Moreover, infants treated with a respiratory therapy commonly prescribed for adults with obstructive sleep apnea fared as well as those who received the traditional therapy for infant respiratory difficulties, the new study found.

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.

October NICHD Director's podcast now online
​The October 2012 NICHD Research Perspectives, the NICHD’s monthly podcast, is now online. The podcast features discussions of research of a study on a treatment to reduce the risk of preterm birth and the new Safe to Sleep campaign.

NIH study shows drug fails to prevent preterm birth in high risk group
​A formulation of the hormone progesterone, shown to be effective in women at risk for another preterm birth because they had a prior preterm birth, was not found to be effective in preventing preterm birth for women in their first pregnancy who have a short cervix, according to a National Institutes of Health network study.

NICHD Director's Statement: Births: Preliminary Data for 2011
​Preterm births have fallen for the fifth straight year in a row, reported the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in one of its recent National Vital Statistics Reports. This welcome decline was seen for all groups, and for each stage of pregnancy.

September NICHD Director's podcast now available
​The September 2012 NICHD Research Perspectives, the NICHD’s monthly podcast, is now online. The podcast features discussions of research on how a gene found in a rare cancer increases red blood cell production, the involvement of “dark matter” DNA in the body’s response to day and night cycles, and on cesarean delivery versus labor for preterm infants.

Federal Report Shows Drops in Infant Mortality, Preterm Birth Rates
The infant mortality rate, the preterm birth rate, and the adolescent birth rate all continued to decline, average mathematics scores increased for 4th and 8th grade students, the violent crime victimization rate among youth fell, as did the percentage of young children living in a home where someone smoked, according to the federal government’s annual statistical report on the well-being of the nation’s children and youth.

Study Shows Additional Benefits of Progesterone in Reducing Preterm Birth Risk
An analysis of five previous studies has uncovered additional evidence of the effectiveness of progesterone, a naturally occurring hormone, in reducing the rate of preterm birth among a high-risk category of women.

Placental, Pregnancy Conditions Account for Most Stillbirths
Half of all stillbirths result from pregnancy disorders and conditions affecting the placenta, according to results reported by a National Institutes of Health network established to find the causes of stillbirth as well as ways to prevent or reduce its occurrence.

Steroids Boost Survival, Reduce Brain Injury for Infants Born at 23 Weeks
Prenatal steroids--given to pregnant women at risk for giving birth prematurely--appear to improve survival and limit brain injury among infants born as early as the 23rd week of pregnancy, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health research network.

NIH Scientist who Advanced Understanding of Preeclampsia Passes Away
An NIH scientist whose landmark collaborations led to a major advance in understanding a potentially fatal disorder of pregnancy has passed away.

Federal Report Shows Drop in Adolescent Birth Rate
The adolescent birth rate declined for the second consecutive year, preterm births declined for the third consecutive year, adolescent injury deaths declined, and fewer 12th graders binge drank, according to the federal government's annual statistical report on the well-being of the nation's children and youth.

Progesterone Reduces Rate of Early Preterm Birth in at Risk Women
A National Institutes of Health study has found that progesterone, a naturally occurring hormone, reduced the rate of preterm birth before the 33rd week of pregnancy by 45 percent among one category of at risk women.