News

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.

Sticking to a healthy diet in the years after pregnancy may reduce the risk of high blood pressure among women who had pregnancy-related (gestational) diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

While the imminent threat of a global Ebola epidemic has faded, the impact of the outbreak in West Africa was severe, and its effects will continue to be felt for years to come. The virus ravaged communities in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, leaving more than 11,000 people dead.

Researchers may now add data from NICHD-funded studies directly to the NICHD Data and Specimen Hub (DASH).

Pregnant women with asthma may be at greater risk of preterm birth when exposed to high levels of certain traffic-related air pollutants, according to a study by researchers at NICHD and other institutions.

The National Institutes of Health today announced its research priorities for studies to investigate how Zika virus infection affects reproduction, pregnancy and the developing fetus.

Prenatal steroid therapy reduces the chance of respiratory complications among infants born at 34-36 weeks, so-called “late” preterm infants, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health research network.

Children of women with high blood sugar levels during pregnancy may more likely be obese by age 7, compared to children born to women with lower blood sugar levels during pregnancy, according to a study led by investigators from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Women who eat more potatoes before pregnancy may have higher rates of gestational diabetes—the form that occurs during pregnancy—compared to women who consume fewer potatoes, suggests a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study.

In an effort to boost HIV testing, as well as the use of anti-HIV therapy among pregnant women in rural villages, researchers supported in part by NICHD assessed the effectiveness of a church-based screening program in Southern Nigeria.

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.

Infants exposed in the womb to a drug used to treat HIV and reduce the transmission of HIV from mother to child, may have lower bone mineral content than those exposed to other anti-HIV drugs, according to a National Institutes of Health study.

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.

Fetuses with enlarged ventricles—the fluid-filled cavities inside the brain—may be less likely than their counterparts to benefit from surgery in the womb to treat spina bifida, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.

NICHD recently launched the NICHD Data and Specimen Hub (DASH), a centralized resource for researchers to store and access de-identified data from NICHD-funded research studies for secondary research use.

NICHD conducts and supports research on health issues that are unique to women and on how certain diseases affect men and women differently.

In 2014, NICHD launched the Human Placenta Project (HPP), a new initiative to revolutionize our understanding of the human placenta and its role in health and disease.

The National Institutes of Health has dedicated $41.5 million for an initiative to understand and monitor the development of the human placenta during pregnancy. The funding will support the development of new technologies to assess the health of the placenta as it grows and matures, with the ultimate goal of improving the health of mothers and children.

The Maternal and Pediatric Infectious Disease Branch (MPIDB) was formed in 1988 as the Pediatric, Adolescent, and Maternal AIDS Branch. At that time, its mission was to support and conduct domestic and international research on the HIV/AIDS epidemic with a special focus on infants, children, adolescents, and women.

When researchers triggered an immune response in the wombs of pregnant mice, their offspring showed signs of brain damage that lasted well into adulthood. The animal’s hippocampus—that’s the part of the brain responsible for memory and spatial orientation—was smaller, and they had poor motor skills and behavioral issues, like hyperactivity.