In the last three decades, advances in medical technology and neonatal intensive care have significantly improved the survival rates of infants born preterm. These technologies have also helped some of the smallest preemies, called extremely low birth weight (ELBW) and defined as infants weighing less than 2.2 pounds.
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.
Study Shows Additional Benefits of Progesterone in Reducing Preterm Birth Risk
An analysis of five previous studies has uncovered additional evidence of the effectiveness of progesterone, a naturally occurring hormone, in reducing the rate of preterm birth among a high-risk category of women.
Placental, Pregnancy Conditions Account for Most Stillbirths
Half of all stillbirths result from pregnancy disorders and conditions affecting the placenta, according to results reported by a National Institutes of Health network established to find the causes of stillbirth as well as ways to prevent or reduce its occurrence.
Slide Show: NIH Hosts 5K Run to Raise Awareness of Infant Mortality
The NICHD Division of Special Populations recently cosponsored a 5-Kilometer Run/Walk/Roll to raise awareness of infant mortality, one of the most important indicators of a nation's health. The event was cosponsored by First Candle, the NIH Office of Research Services, the NIH Recreation and Welfare Association, the NIH Federal Credit Union, National Healthy Start, Inc., the Baltimore City Healthy Start; the Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NIH Grantee Honored for Pioneering Research on Gene Networks
A long-term grantee of the National Institutes of Health has been awarded the International Prize for Biology from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Steroids Boost Survival, Reduce Brain Injury for Infants Born at 23 Weeks
Prenatal steroids--given to pregnant women at risk for giving birth prematurely--appear to improve survival and limit brain injury among infants born as early as the 23rd week of pregnancy, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health research network.
NICHD Recruits Associate Director for Extramural Research
The NICHD is conducting a national search for an Associate Director for Extramural Research. This position offers a unique and exciting opportunity for an extremely capable individual to develop and implement an overall vision for the Institute's extramural research activities, which include more than 3,100 projects and involve 130 staff members.
World AIDS Day: NICHD Research on HIV/AIDS
The NICHD continues to advance understanding of the effects of HIV/AIDS on infants, children, young people, women, and families.
NICHD Highlights Neuroscience Research
On November 14, 2011, NICHD Director Alan Guttmacher, M.D., joined several other NIH Institute Directors in discussing NIH neuroscience research during the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C. Dr. Guttmacher highlighted some of the exciting neuroscience findings that NICHD researchers presented at the meeting.
Cholesterol Levels Elevated in Toddlers Taking Anti-HIV Drugs
Toddlers receiving anti-HIV drugs have higher cholesterol levels, on average, than do their peers who do not have HIV, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
NIH Grantee to Receive White House Mentoring Award
A training program for high school girls co-founded by longtime NIH grantee Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D., will receive a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, the White House announced in mid-November.
NIH Statement on World Pneumonia Day
On this World Pneumonia Day, it is important to keep in mind that a major impediment stands in the way of global efforts to prevent childhood pneumonia.
Collaborating to Improve the Health of Native Babies
Since the Back to Sleep campaign began in 1994, the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) rate in the United States has decreased by more than 50 percent. This decrease occurred not only in the overall U.S. SIDS rate, but also in the SIDS rates for different racial/ethnic groups. The decrease is more than just a number—it represents thousands of infant lives.
Graduated Drivers Licensing Programs Reduce Fatal Teen Crashes
Programs that grant privileges to new drivers in phases--known as graduated licensing programs--dramatically reduce the rate of teen driver fatal crashes, according to three studies funded by the National Institutes of Health.
NIH-Funded Study Finds Dyslexia Not Tied to IQ
Regardless of high or low overall scores on an IQ test, children with dyslexia show similar patterns of brain activity, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health. The results call into question the discrepancy model--the practice of classifying a child as dyslexic on the basis of a lag between reading ability and overall IQ scores.
Study of Youth to Seek Origins of Heart Disease Among African-Americans
Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health are undertaking a preliminary study to identify the early origins of heart disease among African-Americans. The new feasibility study will enroll children and grand children of participants taking part in the largest study of heart disease risk factors among African-American adults, the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), in Jackson, Miss.
Math Disability Linked to Problem Relating Quantities to Numerals
Children who start elementary school with difficulty associating small exact quantities of items with the printed numerals that represent those quantities are more likely to develop a math-related learning disability than are their peers, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Audio Briefing: NICHD Scientists Identify Risk Factors for Teen Driving Accidents
Newly licensed teen drivers have higher crash rates than do older drivers and the teens are much more likely to engage in risky maneuvers that increase the gravitational force on their vehicles, reported a team of scientists from the NIH and other institutions.
NIH Researchers Show How Anti-HIV Drug Acts to Block Herpes Virus
An anti-HIV drug also discovered to stop the spread of the genital herpes virus does so by disabling a key DNA enzyme of the herpes virus, according to findings by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
HHS Agencies Express Support for Infant Safe Sleep Recommendations
Representatives of the agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with a focus on infant health and safety today expressed their support for the new infant safe sleep recommendations issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).