News

A high genetic risk of obesity among pregnant women is linked to fetal weight, but varies according to race, fetal sex, and other factors, according to a study by researchers at the NICHD.

Preterm infants with a lower-than-normal growth rate have key differences in the bacteria and other organisms that live in their digestive tracts, according to a study funded by the NICHD. Moreover, byproducts of metabolism in slow-growing preterm infants are like those found in malnourished children, despite receiving a diet appropriate for their age.

Truvada, a drug combination that reduces the chances of HIV infection in high-risk people may result in small, yet persistent bone loss in younger adolescent males, suggests a study supported by the NICHD. The researchers added, however, that the protection against HIV offered by Truvada far outweighs any possible risks from bone loss.

Acceptance and support from communities and families appear to lessen the toll of mental health conditions experienced by former child soldiers transitioning to early adulthood, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Long-acting contraception after childbirth could help teens avoid short-interval pregnancies, suggests NIH-funded study.

NIH invites scientists, advocacy and family groups, representatives from federal and local agencies, and others to provide comments and suggestions on its draft research plan on Fragile X syndrome and associated conditions.

Supportive parenting may help adolescents avoid brain development issues that have been linked to living in poverty, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. By age 25, children of supportive parents—those who reason with and encourage their children to consider the consequences of their behavior—had more neural connections in brain regions that regulate learning, memory, and emotional control, compared to peers with less supportive parents.

Youth who said they were teased or ridiculed about their weight increased their body mass by 33 percent more each year, compared to a similar group who had not been teased, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

A research project funded by the National Institutes of Health has identified differences in the vaginal bacteria that may raise the risk of preterm birth among pregnant African American women. The findings could be a first step toward the development of a screen for the early identification of preterm birth risk in this population.

Patient advocates, healthcare providers and researchers help map a future research agenda aimed at reducing maternal mortality and severe morbidity.

Maternal stress during pregnancy may influence fetal brain development in ways that increase the risk of depression by early adolescence, suggests a small study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

In an editorial, Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., NICHD Director and Matthew W. Gillman, M.D., S.M., emphasize that women and children bear a substantial burden of the U.S. opioid epidemic and that coordinated, long-term research is essential to filling knowledge gaps about how opioids affect women and children.

Scientists and engineers are pioneering new tools and methods to advance healthcare in revolutionary ways. Learn about emerging technologies funded by NICHD.

Adolescent drivers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher crash rate than adolescents who do not have the disorder, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

NICHD was established more than 50 years ago to help understand maternal health and improve pregnancy outcomes. These selected advances highlight NICHD’s contributions to advancing the health and well-being of pregnant women, mothers, and families everywhere.

Group seeks to enhance testing of therapeutics used by pregnant women and nursing mothers.

NIH invites comments on its Plan of Rehabilitation Research to help update the plan.

The earlier in pregnancy a woman quits smoking, the less likely she is to give birth preterm, according to an analysis funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Similarly, the study found that the more a pregnant woman smoked, the higher her chances for preterm birth.

Each year in the United States, 700 women die from pregnancy or childbirth complications – one of the highest maternal death rates in the developed world. Listen to Milestones interview with Dr. Juanita Chinn from NICHD’s Population Dynamics Branch.

An arthritis drug reduced the severity of Zika virus-related birth defects and improved survival among baby mice, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.