For many COVID-19 patients, full recovery remains elusive even long after they should feel “better.” NIH recently announced research opportunities to understand COVID-19 long haulers, who have what researchers now refer to as Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). NICHD joins these opportunities while remaining focused on PASC patients within our audiences of interest—pregnant and lactating people, children, and those with disabilities.
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.
Media Advisory: Graduates of comprehensive preschool program less likely to be obese in adulthood, NIH-funded study finds
Children in high-poverty neighborhoods who participated in a comprehensive preschool program that provided parents with health and educational services and job training had a lower body mass index in their late 30s than a similar group who participated in the usual early childhood programs, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study authors concluded that comprehensive, school-based early childhood programs could lead to improvements in body mass index later in life.
Science Update: Eviction during pregnancy linked to earlier births, reduced birthweight, according to NICHD-funded study
Women facing eviction from their homes while they were pregnant are more likely to have poor birth outcomes, compared to women who faced eviction before or after they were pregnant, according to a study funded in part by NICHD.
Release: NIH effort seeks to understand MIS-C, range of SARS-CoV-2 effects on children
The National Institutes of Health has launched a new research effort to understand how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, affects children, who account for roughly 13% of the total cases of COVID-19 in the United States. The effort is called the Collaboration to Assess Risk and Identify LoNG-term Outcomes for Children with COVID (CARING for Children with COVID).
Media Advisory: Video coaching program may improve parenting skills and children’s school readiness
A video and coaching intervention program for at-risk mothers and infants increases parent-child interactions and helps to improve children’s social, emotional and language development, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Release: NIH funds study to evaluate remdesivir for COVID-19 in pregnancy
A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health will evaluate the effects of remdesivir in pregnant women who have been prescribed the drug to treat COVID-19. The study, which will be conducted at 17 sites in the continental United States and Puerto Rico, aims to determine how pregnant women metabolize the drug and whether there are any potential side effects.
Media Advisory: NIH calls for greater inclusion of pregnant and lactating people in COVID-19 vaccine research
Pregnant people need to be protected through research rather than from research, the authors contend.
Director's Corner: Including pregnant and lactating people in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines offer the potential to halt the spread of the virus. Yet, we know very little about the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines during pregnancy.
Science Update: Hormonal IUD as effective as a copper IUD at emergency contraception and with less discomfort, NICHD-funded study suggests
A hormone-releasing intrauterine device (IUD) appears to be as effective at emergency contraception as a copper IUD, suggests a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The hormone-releasing IUD contains levonorgestrel, a synthetic form of the reproductive hormone progesterone. Compared to the copper IUD, the levonorgestrel IUD has been shown to reduce heavy bleeding and menstrual discomfort.
Science Update: Use of interpreter services inconsistent in pediatric emergency departments, NICHD-funded study suggests
When dealing with families with limited English language proficiency, pediatric emergency department practitioners were more likely to use professional interpreters for taking medical histories and less likely to use them when administering medication and performing medical procedures, according to a study of 50 cases funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The study also found that professional interpreters were used for only 36% of communication events with families low in English proficiency.
Media Advisory: Severe COVID-19 in pregnancy associated with preterm birth, other complications
NIH-funded study suggests mother-to-infant transmission appears to be rare
Science Update: Childbirth during COVID-19 pandemic associated with anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, NIH-supported study suggests
Increased stress may interfere with adjustment to new motherhood, mother-infant bonding
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2020
Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2020.
Science Update: COVID-19 in third trimester may reduce level of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies transferred across the placenta
For pregnant women with COVID-19 in the third trimester, antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus appear to be transferred to the fetus at lower levels, compared to antibodies against two other respiratory diseases, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. However, one type of antibody against SARS-CoV-2 was transferred to the fetus more efficiently than the other antibodies against the virus, raising the possibility of at least some immune protection against the disease for the newborn.
Media Advisory: Higher red cell transfusion threshold offers no advantage for treating preterm infants
Very low birthweight infants often need blood transfusions to survive. A National Institutes of Health-funded study suggests that providing a higher threshold of red cells within accepted limits offers no advantage in survival or reduction in neurological impairment over a lower threshold.
Media Advisory: Infant opioid withdrawal therapy varies widely by treatment site
Medical care for newborn infants who were exposed to opioids in the womb varied widely across 30 hospitals nationwide, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study authors say that the findings underscore the need for clinical trials to determine the most effective treatments.
Release: Pregnant women in third trimester unlikely to pass SARS-CoV-2 infection to newborns
Pregnant women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, during the third trimester are unlikely to pass the infection to their newborns, suggests an NIH-funded study.
Release: NIH funds eight studies to uncover risk factors for COVID-19-related inflammatory syndrome in children
The National Institutes of Health has awarded eight research grants to develop approaches for identifying children at high risk for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare and severe after-effect of COVID-19 or exposure to the virus that causes it. Up to $20 million will be provided for the projects over four years, pending the availability of funds.
Science Update: In vitro fertilization may increase cancer risk among children with birth defects, NIH-funded study suggests
Children with birth defects have a higher risk of cancer than children without birth defects. Now, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that children conceived through in vitro fertilization—who have a higher risk of birth defects than children conceived naturally—also have a commensurately higher risk of cancer than naturally conceived children with birth defects.
Media Advisory: Plant compound reduces cognitive deficits in mouse model of Down syndrome
The plant compound apigenin improved the cognitive and memory deficits usually seen in a mouse model of Down syndrome, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. Apigenin is found in chamomile flowers, parsley, celery, peppermint and citrus fruits. The findings raise the possibility that a treatment to lessen the cognitive deficits seen in Down syndrome could one day be offered to pregnant women whose fetuses have been diagnosed with Down syndrome through prenatal testing.