News & Updates

NICHD’s mission includes understanding child development and behavior. Check out these scientific advances related to Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Delaying pushing during the second stage of labor—when the cervix is fully dilated at 10 centimeters—is a common practice at many U.S. hospitals, but it may have no effect on whether pregnant women deliver spontaneously (without a cesarean section or other intervention), according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Three national centers to develop best practices for prevention, intervention and treatment.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $7.5 million for an international research program to prevent and treat HIV infection among adolescents and young adults in seven African countries and Brazil.

The latest report features statistics from U.S. government agencies on the status of at-risk children and youth.

Findings from a study on twins may help explain factors that activate or silence genes.

Healthy first-time mothers whose labor was induced in the 39th week of pregnancy were less likely to deliver by cesarean section, compared to those who waited for labor to begin naturally, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The study seeks to determine if exposure poses a risk for neural tube defects.

New findings raise the concern that Zika virus-associated pregnancy loss in people may be more common than currently thought.

As part of NICHD’s continued partnership with the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity®, Inc., the NICHD-led Safe to Sleep® campaign recently launched a mini-grant program to support fraternity members in conducting safe infant sleep outreach. The mini-grants will enable Kappa members to lead and host activities in their communities, where they can share safe infant sleep messages in culturally sensitive ways.

Siblings who feel close to each other in childhood are more likely to achieve similar levels of education, according to an analysis of a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

New trans-NIH INCLUDE Project will focus on improving the health and well-being of people with Down syndrome, while also studying risk and resilience factors for common diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

Research supported by the National Institutes of Health finds that giving children intravenous (IV) fluids to treat diabetic ketoacidosis—an emergency complication of untreated diabetes—does not appear to worsen the brain swelling that may accompany the condition.

The Gynecologic Health and Disease Branch recently published its scientific vision. The document summarizes its research themes, which provide direction for future research.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an anti-HIV drug combination for use in at-risk adolescents. FDA’s decision was informed by an NICHD-supported study of adolescent males.

Women in study report sustained improvements in symptoms five years after either procedure

The month of May offers an opportunity to focus on NICHD’s Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch, which observes its 5th anniversary supporting research on preventing, treating, and reducing all forms of childhood trauma, injury, and critical illness.

A drug combination aimed at preventing transmission of HIV from a pregnant woman to her fetus likely does not increase the risk for preterm birth and early infant death, according to a re-analysis of two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Mutations may impair breathing while under stress, suggests NIH-supported study

NIH-funded study uses high-resolution brain scans to uncover structural changes.