News

Among women planning to conceive after a pregnancy loss, those who had sufficient levels of vitamin D were more likely to become pregnant and have a live birth, compared to women with insufficient levels of the vitamin, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

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.

Elevated blood pressure before conception may increase the chances for pregnancy loss, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The authors conclude that lifestyle changes to keep blood pressure under control could potentially reduce the risk of loss. The study appears in Hypertension.

Exposure to common air pollutants, such as ozone and fine particles, may increase the risk of early pregnancy loss, according to an NIH study.

NICHD’s Pauline Mendola examines whether air pollution and extreme temperature increase the risk of stillbirth.

NICHD research aims to promote healthy pregnancies.

A daily low dose of aspirin may help a subgroup of women who have previously lost a pregnancy to successfully conceive and carry a pregnancy to term, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

NICHD had a very productive year in 2016. Staff responded quickly to Zika virus and led the effort to develop the NIH Research Plan on Rehabilitation. The following snapshots are examples of the many advances made possible by NICHD this year.

NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi shares some thoughts about joining NICHD.

A new analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health has provided the strongest evidence to date that nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is associated with a lower risk of miscarriage in pregnant women.

Researchers have discovered the source of a cell type central to endometriosis, an oftentimes painful disease that occurs when tissue that lines the inside of the uterus grows outside of the uterus.

A woman is more likely to miscarry if she and her partner drink more than two caffeinated beverages a day during the weeks leading up to conception, according to a new study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Ohio State University, Columbus.

A two-drug preventive treatment greatly reduces the severity of malaria during pregnancy, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The treatment provides an alternative for many parts of Africa where the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum has grown resistant to standard treatment.

Couples who attempt to conceive within three months after losing an early pregnancy, defined as less than 20 weeks gestation, have the same chances, if not greater, of achieving a live birth than those who wait for three months or more, according to a National Institutes of Health study.

The recommendation to delay delivery of otherwise healthy infants until at least the 39th week of pregnancy does not appear to have increased stillbirths in the United States, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Dr. Cathy Spong became NICHD’s acting director on October 1, 2015. Here she shares her plans for the year and her thoughts on what makes NICHD so unique.

The National Institutes of Health has announced $46 million in research awards for the Human Placenta Project, an initiative to revolutionize understanding of the placenta. The awards will fund technology development and testing to assess placental function throughout pregnancy, with the ultimate goal of improving pregnancy outcomes and lifelong health.

The placenta is a temporary organ that connects a mother and her fetus. It performs multiple functions, acting as the fetus’s lungs, kidneys, and liver, as well as the gastrointestinal, endocrine, and immune systems. It produces hormones to help maintain pregnancy and support fetal development, and it protects the fetus from the mother’s immune system. There is even a role for the placenta in determining the timing of birth.

NICHD’s Population Dynamics Branch supports research on a range of topics, including the factors that make populations rise and fall, such as fertility and mortality. We checked in with branch chief Rebecca Clark to learn more about the branch’s work.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers and their colleagues have developed a “placenta-on-a-chip” to study the inner workings of the human placenta and its role in pregnancy.