Maternal adipokines—molecules produced by fat cells—influence fetal growth and newborn length, birthweight, and proportion of body fat.
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 to evaluate effectiveness of male contraceptive skin gel
A clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health will evaluate a male contraceptive gel for its ability to prevent pregnancy.
Release: Blood test may identify gestational diabetes risk in first trimester, NIH analysis suggests
A blood test conducted as early as the 10th week of pregnancy may help identify women at risk for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related condition that poses potentially serious health risks for mothers and infants, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Podcast: Infertility: Men’s Health
Dr. Enrique Schisterman, Chief of the Epidemiology Branch shares his personal struggle with infertility, which led him to dedicate a research career focusing on ways to help couples boost fertility.
Release: Teen crash risk highest during first three months after getting driver’s license
Teen drivers are more likely to be involved in a collision or near miss during the first three months after getting a driver’s license, compared to the previous three months on a learner’s permit.
Release: Insufficient vitamin D linked to miscarriage among women with prior pregnancy loss
Among women planning to conceive after a pregnancy loss, those who had sufficient levels of vitamin D were more likely to become pregnant and have a live birth, compared to women with insufficient levels of the vitamin, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Release: Women with pregnancy-related diabetes may be at risk for chronic kidney disease
Gestational diabetes may predispose women to early-stage kidney damage, a precursor to chronic kidney disease, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Release: More than one day of early-pregnancy bleeding linked to lower birthweight
Women who experience vaginal bleeding for more than one day during the first trimester of pregnancy may be more likely to have a smaller baby, compared to women who do not experience bleeding in the first trimester, suggest researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Diets low in certain minerals linked to problem with ovulation
Insufficient sodium or manganese increases risk, NIH study suggests
Item of Interest: NICHD reports success of data sharing resource, two years after launch
More than two years after its inception, NICHD’s Data and Specimen Hub (DASH) has received 73 data access requests and resulted in 3 published studies.
Release: A third of young adults have ridden with an impaired driver, NIH analysis suggests
Roughly a third of recent high school graduates have ridden in a motor vehicle with a substance-impaired driver, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
News Release: Iodine deficiency may reduce pregnancy chances, NIH study suggests
Women with moderate to severe iodine deficiency may take longer to achieve a pregnancy, compared to women with normal iodine levels, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
News Release: NIH study of WWII evacuees suggests mental illness may be passed to offspring
Mental illness associated with early childhood adversity may be passed from generation to generation, according to a study of adults whose parents evacuated Finland as children during World War II.
Media Advisory: Air pollution exposure in early pregnancy linked to miscarriage, NIH study suggests
Exposure to common air pollutants, such as ozone and fine particles, may increase the risk of early pregnancy loss, according to an NIH study.
News Release: Obesity during pregnancy may lead directly to fetal overgrowth, NIH study suggests
Obesity during pregnancy—independent of its health consequences such as diabetes—may account for the higher risk of giving birth to an atypically large infant.
Second trimester weight gain associated with fetal growth in twin pregnancies
A woman’s weight gain in the second trimester of a twin pregnancy is most closely associated with fetal growth and the size of the babies at the time of birth, according to a prospective study by researchers at the NICHD.
Healthy lifestyle reduces heart attack, stroke risk after gestational diabetes, NIH study shows
Women who have had gestational diabetes may be able to reduce or even eliminate their risk for cardiovascular disease by following a healthy lifestyle in the years after giving birth, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Socioeconomic disadvantage linked to immune activity during pregnancy
Infants born to mothers in poverty had a greater chance of developing neurological problems within the first year of life, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Harvard University.
Pregnancy diet high in refined grains could increase child obesity risk by age 7, NIH study suggests
Children born to women with gestational diabetes whose diet included high proportions of refined grains may have a higher risk of obesity by age 7, compared to children born to women with gestational diabetes who ate low proportions of refined grains, according to results from a National Institutes of Health study.
Drinking diet beverages during pregnancy linked to child obesity, NIH study suggests
Children born to women who had gestational diabetes and drank at least one artificially sweetened beverage per day during pregnancy were more likely to be overweight or obese at age 7, compared to children born to women who had gestational diabetes and drank water instead of artificially sweetened beverages, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
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