Fertility & Pregnancy

A preclinical study by a University of South Florida Health (USF Health) Morsani College of Medicine research team has discovered a new mechanism for how Zika virus can pass from mothers to their children during pregnancy -- a process known as vertical transmission. The researchers showed, for the first time, that specialized cells lining the uterus (maternal decidual cells) … [Read more...]

A research study at the University of Chicago has found that in pregnancy, while the T cell response to a fetus becomes tolerant to allow for successful pregnancy, the part of the immune system that produces antibodies (known as the humoral response) becomes sensitized, creating memory B cells that can later contribute to the rejection of a transplant of organ. The results … [Read more...]

Predicting preterm birth can be difficult, especially for women who have not given birth. It has long been known that the best predictor of preterm birth is someone who has had a prior preterm birth; however, this information is helpful only in second and subsequent pregnancies. For women in their first pregnancy, it is a challenge for obstetricians and midwives to advise them … [Read more...]

University of Oregon biologists have used the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to identify molecular mechanisms that produce DNA damage in sperm and contribute to male infertility following exposure to heat. In humans, the optimal temperature for sperm production is just below body temperature, in a range of about 90-95 degrees F. Human studies have found that exposure … [Read more...]

Researchers from Boston Medical Center's Maxwell Finland Laboratory for Infectious Diseases have identified properties in placenta tissue that may play an important role in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 from a mother with the virus to her fetus. The study results demonstrate that the COVID-19 virus universally invades the placenta in cases with and without … [Read more...]

Pregnant women who take extra choline supplements may mitigate the negative impact that viral respiratory infections, including COVID-19, can have on their babies, according to a new study from researchers in the Departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Choline is a vitamin B nutrient found in various foods … [Read more...]

In women with a history of miscarriage, higher levels of physical activity were associated with a greater risk of subclinical, or very early, pregnancy loss, according to new research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Among women with confirmed pregnancy, physical activity and miscarriage risk were unrelated. "Risk related to physical activity is different for … [Read more...]

All mammals, including humans, are colonized by billions of microbes. These mainly live in our intestines but can also be found in the respiratory tract, on the skin and in the urogenital tract. In the gastroenterology research group of the Department for BioMedical Reserarch (DBMR) at the University of Bern and at the University Hospital Bern, Inselspital, Stephanie … [Read more...]

  It turns out we should follow our parent's advice when we're thinking about becoming parents ourselves, with a study finding eating the traditional 'three-vegies' before pregnancy lowers the risk of a premature birth. University of Queensland PhD candidate Dereje Gete analysed the diets of nearly 3500 women and found high consumption of carrots, cauliflower, … [Read more...]

Female eggs exposed to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, have an impaired ability to produce viable embryos, and are significantly less likely to result in a viable pregnancy, according to an animal study accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. Marijuana, or cannabis, is the most commonly used recreational drug by … [Read more...]

When parents eat low-protein or high-fat diets it can lead to metabolic disorders in their adult offspring. Now, an international team led by researchers at the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR) have identified a key player and the molecular events underlying this phenomenon in mice. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease is a school of thought that … [Read more...]

You may have heard of a 2016 study linking cognitive enhancement in babies with eating more fruit during pregnancy. But how strong is that link? That's the question scientists at the University of Alberta asked as they set out to verify the findings in a new study. "Our research followed up on results from the original CHILD Cohort Study, which found that fruit consumption … [Read more...]

More than just causing discomfort, regional heatwaves have been associated with a number of health risks, particularly for children and the elderly. A new study by researchers at University of California San Diego identified another important at-risk group: people who are pregnant and their unborn infants. The study, published February 11, 2020 in Environment International, … [Read more...]

Women who engage in sexual activity weekly or monthly have a lower risk of entering menopause early relative to those who report having some form of sex less than monthly, according to a new UCL study. The researchers observed that women, who reported engaging in sexual activity weekly, were 28% less likely to have experienced menopause at any given age than women who … [Read more...]

A new study from researchers at Western University and Queen's University definitively shows that regular exposure to THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, during pregnancy has significant impact on placental and fetal development. With more than a year since the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, the effects of its use during pregnancy are only now … [Read more...]

WOMEN WHO LIVE NEAR major roadways appear more likely to develop high blood pressure during pregnancy, which can lead to serious and fatal complications if left unchecked, new federal research suggests. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is among the most common health issues women develop during pregnancy and, in its most severe forms, a leading cause of maternal death … [Read more...]

A new imaging technique to track maternal blood flow to the placenta has the potential to help diagnose several common complications in early pregnancy, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers used the technique, referred to as pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (pCASL MRI), to identify women with reduced … [Read more...]

New University of Minnesota Medical School research is the first to show that estrogen is essential to maintaining muscle stem cell health. In an article recently published in Cell Reports, lead authors Dawn Lowe, PhD, Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Graduate Program, University of Minnesota … [Read more...]

Why does it take 200 million sperm to fertilize a single egg? One reason is that sperm, when they arrive in the uterus, face a bombardment by the immune system. Perhaps, says molecular anthropologist Pascal Gagneux, many are needed so that some will survive. On the other hand, there may be a benefit to culling so many sperm. "I'm a lonely zoologist in a medical … [Read more...]