Nearly half of all cases of diabetes during pregnancy could be prevented if the expecting mothers ate well, exercised regularly, stopped smoking, and maintained a healthy body weight before pregnancy, a new study finds.
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.
Success rate for vaginal delivery high even after prolonged labor
NIH researchers have concluded that women who experience prolonged labor have an excellent chance for a successful vaginal delivery. However, the researchers did find a slightly increased risk of complications for mothers and babies. The researchers advised women and their health care practitioners to weigh the increased benefits of vaginal delivery against the slightly increased risk.
Young adults more likely to attend college
American young adults are more racially and ethnically diverse, more likely to graduate from high school, and attend college, and less likely to smoke than previous generations, according to a report by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. However, the young adults have more student debt than generations past, earn less than their counterparts in the year 2000, and more than 1 in 5 are obese, the report says.
Bullying Decreases among Middle School and High School Students
A new study found that bullying among students in grades six through ten declined significantly between 1998 and 2010. Fighting among students also declined, although less dramatically.
Exercise may cut risk of type 2 diabetes after prior gestational diabetes
Exercise alone may help prevent gestational diabetes—which occurs in women during pregnancy—from progressing to Type 2 diabetes in the time after pregnancy, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
NIH study links high cholesterol levels to lower fertility
High cholesterol levels may impair fertility in couples trying to achieve a pregnancy, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the University at Buffalo (New York), and Emory University in Atlanta.
Join NICHD on April 23 for a Twitter chat on Infertility
For National Infertility Awareness Week, this April 20–26, the NICHD joins the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health (OWH), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Organization for a Twitter chat on infertility.
Aspirin does not prevent pregnancy loss, NIH study finds
A daily low dose of aspirin does not appear to prevent subsequent pregnancy loss among women with a history of one or two prior pregnancy losses, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Podcast: Teens who rode with an intoxicated driver more likely to drive impaired themselves
NICHD Research Developments podcast with Dr. Bruce Simons-Morton.
High plasticizer levels in males linked to delayed pregnancy for female partners
Women whose male partners have high concentrations of three common forms of phthalates, chemicals found in a wide range of consumer products, take longer to become pregnant than women in couples in which the male does not have high concentrations of the chemicals, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Drivers engaged in other tasks about 10 percent of the time
Drivers eat, reach for the phone, text, or otherwise take their eyes off the road about 10 percent of the time they are behind the wheel, according to a study using video technology and in-vehicle sensors.
Intramural reorganization brings renewed focus to population health
What was formerly known as NICHD’s Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research (DESPR) has been reorganized and is now known as the Division of Intramural Population Health Research.
Only half of U.S. youth meet physical activity standards, NIH study shows
Only about half of U.S. adolescents are physically active five or more days of the week, and fewer than 1 in 3 eat fruits and vegetables daily, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
NICHD Director’s podcast features research on adolescent health behavior
The January 2013 NICHD Research Perspectives features adolescent health research undertaken by scientists in the institute’s Prevention Research Branch.
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.
PCBs, other pollutants may play role in pregnancy delay
Couples with high levels of PCBs and similar environmental pollutants take longer to achieve pregnancy in comparison to other couples with lower levels of the pollutants, according to a preliminary study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.
Vaginal delivery safe for head first births before 32 weeks
Infants born to mothers attempting to deliver vaginally before the 32nd week of pregnancy are as likely to survive as those delivered by a planned cesarean, provided the fetus is in the head-first position, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Family Problem-Solving Sessions Help Teens Better Manage Diabetes
A clinic-based program for adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their families helped the teens develop the healthy behaviors needed to control their blood sugar levels, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found.
August NICHD Director's Podcast Now Online
The August 2012 NICHD Research Perspectives, the NICHD’s monthly podcast, is now online. The August podcast features research on how the stresses of poverty may affect learning in young children, the effects of fetal alcohol exposure, and how the ability to estimate quantities changes across the lifespan.
Cognitive Changes may be only Sign of Fetal Alcohol Exposure
Most children exposed to high levels of alcohol in the womb do not develop the distinct facial features seen in fetal alcohol syndrome, but instead show signs of abnormal intellectual or behavioral development, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and researchers in Chile.