News & Updates

A daily low dose of aspirin does not appear to prevent subsequent pregnancy loss among women with a history of one or two prior pregnancy losses, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

Two surgical treatments for a form of pelvic hernia affecting women have similar rates of success and safety, scientists in a National Institutes of Health research network have found. A guided exercise therapy to strengthen pelvic muscles did not add to the benefits of either surgery.

This February marks the 20th anniversary of the results of Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol 076—the first study to show that drug therapy could reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. The NICHD and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) co-funded this study.

The NICHD has joined with Spelman College in support of the Wellness Revolution Summit 2014: Power UP! at the college on Thursday, February 6.

HAP from smoky, inefficient stoves, cook fires, and fuels is a leading cause of death and disability around the world. Unsafe stoves not only cause severe pneumonia in children, and cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer in adults, but they also put women and children at risk for severe burns and scalds.

In the June NICHD Research Perspectives, NIH researchers and other experts described the health risks of indoor air pollution caused by cooking fires in the developing world and the research that needs to be undertaken to solve this problem.

In a recent blog post in The Huffington Post, Dr. Guttmacher describes his experience of becoming a new grandfather within the context of his training as a pediatrician.

Preeclampsia is a condition in which a woman with previously normal blood pressure develops high blood pressure at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later. It can be life-threatening and can lead to serious short- and long-term health problems for the mother and her fetus.

With 11 research programs, more than 75 researchers, and more than 1,100 support staff, the NICHD's DIR is among the largest at the NIH. But with good reason—The NICHD's DIR also has one of the broadest research portfolios at the NIH, covering nearly all aspects of human development and reproduction.

Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have a new theory as to why a woman’s fertility declines after her mid-30s. They also suggest an approach that might help slow the process, enhancing and prolonging fertility.

As National Women’s Health Week (May 12 to 18) gets underway this year, the NICHD takes stock of 15 years of research on diagnosing, preventing, and treating PFDs—a groups of conditions that particularly affect women.

NICHD's National Child and Maternal Health Education Program (NCMHEP) is working with its Coordinating Committee member organizations to promote a set of three patient-focused videos.

The Division’s 2012 Annual Report highlights the extensive and comprehensive work of DESPR investigators and researchers.

Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the endometrium, which normally grows inside the uterus, grows outside the uterus instead. Although the exact number of women affected by endometriosis is not known, current estimates suggest that 176 million women worldwide may be affected by the condition.

Pregnant women who experienced financial, emotional or other personal stress in the year before their delivery had an increased chance of having a stillbirth, say researchers who conducted a National Institutes of Health network study.

For more than 30 years, a major goal of NICHD has been to reduce MTCT of HIV and other infections. Institute-supported research has identified practices and drug combinations that are very effective in preventing MTCT of HIV. As a result of this research, transmission rates in the United States have dropped to less than 1%.

Is It Worth It?—new videos from the NICHD National Child and Maternal Health Education Program (NCMHEP), explain the benefits of carrying a pregnancy to at least 39 weeks unless there is a medical reason to deliver earlier.

On December, 13, 2011, the NICHD collaborated with the Foundation for the NIH to host a scientific symposium to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the NCMRR and to provide a forum for discussions of the Center’s history and accomplishments.

On December 5, 2012, the NICHD released the Scientific Vision: The Next Decade, the culmination of a collaborative process that began in 2011 to identify the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and the research community to pursue over the next decade. The Vision statement was made available during the NICHD’s 50th anniversary colloquium.

The November 2012 NICHD Director’s podcast is now online. This month’s podcast featured presenters from a recent NICHD Exchange program, “Sleep: the ABC’s of Zs.” The NICHD Exchange is a series of quarterly meetings in which NICHD administrators and scientists present relevant findings designed to spur thought provoking conversations to inform the NICHD research effort.