A healthy diet around the time of conception through the second trimester may reduce the risk of several common pregnancy complications, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
Release: Eating habits change only slightly after gestational diabetes diagnosis, NIH study suggests
Pregnant women made only modest dietary changes after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes, according to a study by NICHD researchers.
Director's Corner: A Mother’s Day Message: Time for Action to Improve Maternal Health
NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi is joined by NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health Director Dr. Janine Clayton in assessing the growing maternal health crisis in the United States and describing NIH’s efforts to address it.
Release: Most differences in DNA binding compounds found at birth in children conceived by IVF not seen in early childhood, NIH study finds
Results bolster previous studies finding no growth, development differences with IVF.
Director's Corner: One Year of Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics, and Anticipating New Challenges
Looking back and looking ahead. NICHD Director Dr. Diana W. Bianchi joins other leaders across NIH in reflecting on the work of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program and discussing plans for the future.
Release: Moderate daily caffeine intake during pregnancy may lead to smaller birth size
Pregnant women who consumed the caffeine equivalent of as little as half a cup of coffee a day on average had slightly smaller babies than pregnant women who did not consume caffeinated beverages, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Media Advisory: NIH calls for greater inclusion of pregnant and lactating people in COVID-19 vaccine research
Pregnant people need to be protected through research rather than from research, the authors contend.
Director's Corner: Including pregnant and lactating people in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines offer the potential to halt the spread of the virus. Yet, we know very little about the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines during pregnancy.
Media Advisory: Low-dose aspirin may improve pregnancy chances for women with one or two prior miscarriages
Contrary to previous findings, low-dose aspirin therapy before conception and during early pregnancy may increase pregnancy chances and live births among women who have experienced one or two prior miscarriages, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Rather than looking solely at the difference in pregnancy rates between women who were given aspirin and those receiving a placebo, the study also accounted for differences in total aspirin use between women who deviated from the daily regimen and those who adhered to it.
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2020
Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2020.
Release: NIH study suggests using cannabis while trying to conceive may reduce pregnancy chances
Women who use marijuana could have a more difficult time conceiving a child than women who do not use marijuana, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Vegetarian diets during pregnancy associated with small infant birth weight
Vegetarian diets during pregnancy are associated with small infant birth weight, but not a higher risk preterm birth or other medical complications, suggests a National Institutes of Health study.
Science Update: Women with asthma may be at higher risk for weight gain during pregnancy, NIH study suggests
Women with asthma are more likely than normal to gain weight during pregnancy and to retain weight 3 months after giving birth, suggests a National Institutes of Health study. On average, women with asthma gained 3.1 kg (just under 7 lbs) more after a full-term pregnancy than women without asthma. Among women with asthma, weight gain was greater with obesity. Weight gain was also greater with more severe asthma and with asthma triggered by exercise. The study authors suggest that their findings underscore the importance of pre-pregnancy counseling for women with asthma on the need to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
Release: Postpartum depression may persist three years after giving birth
National Institutes of Health study suggests women with mood disorders, gestatational diabetes may have a higher risk.
Release: NIH study suggests opioid use linked to pregnancy loss, lower chance of conception
Opioid use among women trying to conceive may be associated with a lower chance of pregnancy, suggests a National Institutes of Health study. Moreover, opioid use in early pregnancy may be associated with a greater chance of pregnancy loss.
Item of Interest: NICHD fetal growth calculators available to healthcare providers
New tools estimate fetal growth percentiles and velocity, and they account for racial and ethnic variations.
Release: Iodine exposure in the NICU may lead to decrease in thyroid function, NIH study suggests
Exposure to iodine used for medical procedures in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may increase an infant’s risk for congenital hypothyroidism (loss of thyroid function), suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Item of Interest: Shyamal Peddada named Chief of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch in NICHD’s Division of Intramural Population Health Research
Shyamal D. Peddada, Ph.D., has been named the new chief of the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Dr. Peddada joins NICHD from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, where he served as Chair of the Department of Biostatistics.
Science Update: Binge drinking in 12th grade linked to driving while impaired 4 years later, NIH study suggests
Four years after high school, adolescents who were binge drinkers during their senior year were more likely than non-binge drinkers to drive while impaired, to ride with an impaired driver, to black out from alcohol, to extreme binge drink, and to engage in risky driving practices, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Science Update: Earlier birth may increase the risk for developmental delays, NIH study suggests
The earlier in pregnancy infants were born, the more likely they were to fail a screening test for developmental delay by age 3, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. Although infants born at 39 weeks, considered full term, had a lower risk than those born earlier, infants born at 40 and 41 weeks had even lower risks. The findings may have implications for elective induction—labor induced when there is no medical need—at 39 weeks.