National Institutes of Health study suggests women with mood disorders, gestatational diabetes may have a higher risk.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
Release: NIH study suggests opioid use linked to pregnancy loss, lower chance of conception
Opioid use among women trying to conceive may be associated with a lower chance of pregnancy, suggests a National Institutes of Health study. Moreover, opioid use in early pregnancy may be associated with a greater chance of pregnancy loss.
Item of Interest: NICHD fetal growth calculators available to healthcare providers
New tools estimate fetal growth percentiles and velocity, and they account for racial and ethnic variations.
Release: Iodine exposure in the NICU may lead to decrease in thyroid function, NIH study suggests
Exposure to iodine used for medical procedures in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may increase an infant’s risk for congenital hypothyroidism (loss of thyroid function), suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Item of Interest: Shyamal Peddada named Chief of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch in NICHD’s Division of Intramural Population Health Research
Shyamal D. Peddada, Ph.D., has been named the new chief of the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Dr. Peddada joins NICHD from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, where he served as Chair of the Department of Biostatistics.
Science Update: Binge drinking in 12th grade linked to driving while impaired 4 years later, NIH study suggests
Four years after high school, adolescents who were binge drinkers during their senior year were more likely than non-binge drinkers to drive while impaired, to ride with an impaired driver, to black out from alcohol, to extreme binge drink, and to engage in risky driving practices, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Science Update: Earlier birth may increase the risk for developmental delays, NIH study suggests
The earlier in pregnancy infants were born, the more likely they were to fail a screening test for developmental delay by age 3, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. Although infants born at 39 weeks, considered full term, had a lower risk than those born earlier, infants born at 40 and 41 weeks had even lower risks. The findings may have implications for elective induction—labor induced when there is no medical need—at 39 weeks.
Science Update: Frequent driving practice linked to lower crash risk among teen drivers, NIH study finds
Teens with a learner’s permit who had regular, behind-the-wheel practice sessions had a lower crash risk in the year after they obtained their driver’s license, compared to teens who practiced less frequently, according to a study by researchers at the NICHD and other institutions.
Science Update: NIH study suggests children of mothers with PCOS may be at higher risk for anxiety, ADHD
Children born to women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may be at higher risk for anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavioral problems, compared to children whose mothers do not have the infertility disorder, according to National Institutes of Health researchers.
Science Update: Fetal weight gain may begin long before gestational diabetes is commonly diagnosed
The excess body fat seen in infants born to women with gestational, or pregnancy-related, diabetes is associated with higher maternal blood sugar levels as early as the 10th week of pregnancy—long before the time when women are usually screened for the condition, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, weight gain in the fetuses of women with gestational diabetes first becomes apparent in the 28th week of pregnancy, when many women are first tested for the condition.
Media Advisory: Maternal obesity linked to ADHD and behavioral problems in children, NIH study suggests
Maternal obesity may increase a child’s risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to an analysis by NICHD researchers.
Media Advisory: Breastfeeding may reduce type 2 diabetes risk among women with gestational diabetes, NIH study suggests
The longer a woman with gestational, or pregnancy-related, diabetes breastfeeds her infant, the lower her risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life, suggests an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Release: Genetic profile may predict chance of type 2 diabetes among women with gestational diabetes
Women who go on to develop type 2 diabetes after having gestational, or pregnancy-related, diabetes are more likely to have particular genetic profiles, suggests an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. The findings provide insight into the genetic factors underlying the risk of type 2 diabetes and may inform strategies for reducing this risk among women who had gestational diabetes.
Release: NIH scientists link higher maternal blood pressure to placental gene changes
Gene modifications correspond to blood pressure increases at distinct pregnancy intervals.
Release: Zinc, folic acid supplement does not improve male fertility, NIH study suggests
Dietary supplements containing zinc and folic acid—marketed as a treatment for male infertility—do not appear to improve pregnancy rates, sperm counts or sperm function, according to a study conducted by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2019
Read about NICHD’s notable research findings and activities from 2019.
Release: Persistent organic pollutants in maternal blood linked to smaller fetal size, NIH study suggests
Pregnant women exposed to persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, had slightly smaller fetuses than women who haven’t been exposed to these chemicals, according to an analysis of ultrasound scans by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Science Update: Drug restores normal function of cells from person with MEHMO syndrome, NIH study finds
A drug called ISRIB (integrated stress response inhibitor) restored the normal function of cells from a person with the rare disorder MEHMO syndrome, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. Their study appears in Molecular Cell.
Media Advisory: Vesicles released by bacteria may reduce the spread of HIV in human tissue, NIH study suggests
Nano-sized vesicles released by certain bacteria that inhabit the vagina may protect
against HIV infection, suggests a study of human cells and tissues by researchers at the National Institutes of
Health and the University of Bologna, Italy. Known as extracellular vesicles, these bubble-like particles are
produced by many kinds of cells and are thought to transport molecules from one cell to another.
Item of Interest: John Robbins, NIH pioneer of conjugate vaccine technology, dies at 86
John Bennet Robbins, M.D., co-developer of a vaccine that has spared thousands of small children from a major cause of death and intellectual disability, has passed away after a long illness. Dr. Robbins was chief of the Laboratory of Developmental and Molecular Immunity at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), before he retired in 2012. He was 86.
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