NICHD News Releases

Progress on Pelvic Floor Disorders (PFDs)
In observance of National Women’s Health Week, the NICHD looks back at 15 years of research on PFDs.

Just in Time for Mother’s Day: Let the Baby Set the Delivery Date!
The NICHD’s National Child and Maternal Health Education Program and its coordinating committee members unite to let mothers know that they should wait until at least 39 weeks to deliver their babies unless medically necessary.

Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research 2012 Annual Report
This NICHD Division recently released its annual report highlighting research that covers a range of topics, from understanding fertility and preventing birth defects to promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviors and developing new ways to analyze data.

Global Consortium Identifies Best Management of Endometriosis
The World Endometriosis Society Consortium, a global collaboration that includes experts from and grantees of the NICHD, has published a consensus statement about the best ways to manage endometriosis.

Stressful life events may increase stillbirth risk, NIH network study finds
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.

February is International Prenatal Infection Prevention Month
The NICHD supports a number of efforts to help prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and other infections during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, both in the United States and in other countries. Current NICHD-supported studies are exploring better methods of prevention and treatment of these infectious diseases.

Carrying Pregnancy to 39 Weeks: Is It Worth It? Yes!
New videos from the NICHD’s National Child and Maternal Health Education Program explain why it’s important not to induce labor for nonmedical reasons before 39 weeks of pregnancy. Find out why it’s worth it for both mother and baby.

Celebrating 20 Years of Medical Rehabilitation Research
A new publication highlights the NICHD’s National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) 20th anniversary symposium, which commemorated the establishment of the NCMRR, described its activities, and featured the scientific advances in rehabilitation research that came from its support.

Scientific Vision: The Next Decade
The NICHD embarked upon a collaborative process in 2011 to create a scientific Vision, identifying the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and its partners to pursue over the next decade. The newly published Scientific Vision statement presents the results of that process and outlines scientific goals for the coming decade.

November NICHD Director’s podcast now available
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.

NICHD reorganizes extramural program
​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

NICHD vision statement now available online
A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

Research for a Lifetime: Commemorating the NICHD’s 50th Anniversary
On October 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the legislation establishing the NICHD to examine “the complex process of human development from conception to old age.” The Institute marks its golden anniversary with Research for a Lifetime, an all-day scientific colloquium to highlight the Institute’s mission, accomplishments, and future research directions.

Diagnosing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)—NIH Consensus Development Conference (Rescheduled)
​GDM is common, affecting about 7% of pregnant women in the United States. There is current debate in the obstetrical community about the best method for diagnosing this condition, to optimize pregnancy and later health outcomes for mothers and their children. To address this issue, the NICHD and the NIH Office of Disease Prevention are sponsoring a consensus development conference to evaluate available scientific evidence on the benefits and risks of various screening and diagnostic approaches for GDM, an important first step toward delivering optimal care to pregnant women who might be at risk for GDM.

Preeclampsia Research at the NICHD
​Preeclampsia, characterized by a sudden spike in blood pressure after the 20th week of pregnancy, can affect the health of both mother and baby. Finding ways to detect, treat, and prevent preeclampsia and its negative health outcomes are priorities for the NICHD. This spotlight describes some of the Institute's current research activities and findings related to preeclampsia.

NICHD Director's Statement: Births: Preliminary Data for 2011
​Preterm births have fallen for the fifth straight year in a row, reported the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in one of its recent National Vital Statistics Reports. This welcome decline was seen for all groups, and for each stage of pregnancy.

Study shows benefits, drawbacks, for women's incontinence treatments
​Oral medication for treating a type of incontinence in women is roughly as effective as Botox injections to the bladder, reported researchers who conducted a National Institutes of Health clinical trials network study, with each form of treatment having benefits and limitations.

NICHD's Mofenson Recognized as Federal Employee of the Year
​Lynne Mofenson, M.D., Chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch, received the Federal Employee of the Year Award from the Partnership for Public Service. The award is one of nine Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals bestowed on public servants who make "high-impact contributions to the health, safety and well-being of Americans."

July NICHD Director's Podcast Now Online
​The July 2012 NICHD Research Perspectives, the NICHD’s monthly podcast, is now online. This month’s podcast features research sponsored by the NICHD’s Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch. This month’s guests, Branch Chief Dr. Lynne Mofenson and Dr. Bill Kapogiannis, reported on findings to reduce the occurrence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the safety of one of the new anti HIV drugs, tenofovir, during pregnancy, and the risk of bone loss among young men newly diagnosed with HIV.

Adding Nevirapine to HIV Regimen Halves Newborn Transmission Rate
Adding the drug nevirapine to the regimen given to newborns of women diagnosed with HIV shortly before or during labor halves the newborns' risk of contracting the virus, according to findings by a National Institutes of Health research network.