Drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco cigarettes throughout the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with nearly three times the risk of late stillbirth (at 28 or more weeks), compared to women who neither drink nor smoke during pregnancy or quit both before the end of the first trimester, according to a study funded by 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: NIH-funded study highlights stark racial disparities in maternal deaths
Racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality in the United States may be larger than previously reported, suggests an NICHD-funded study.
Media Advisory: NIH-convened expert panel proposes standardized definition of placental SARS-CoV-2 infection
A panel of experts convened by NICHD has recommended standardized criteria to define infection of the placenta with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Their recommendations aim to help streamline research on SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and ultimately optimize clinical care.
Media Advisory: NIH-funded study discovers gene involved in male infertility
Mutation in a single gene appears to account for a form of male infertility in which men fail to produce sperm, according to an international study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. Males with the condition, known as non-obstructive azoospermia, fail to produce any sperm, even though they do not have any obstruction in the ducts through which sperm are released.
Release: NIH-funded study identifies benefits, risks of treatments for pregnancy of unknown location
Preemptive treatment for a nonviable pregnancy of unknown location resolves the condition more rapidly than treating symptoms as they arise, suggests an NICHD-supported study. However, both treatment approaches convey similar risks of adverse events.
Science Update: Lab-grown placental stem cells may yield insights into preeclampsia, NIH-funded study suggests
Preeclampsia—a life-threatening hypertensive disorder of pregnancy—may begin with a failure of the outermost cells of the early placenta to sufficiently invade the uterine wall, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers generated these outermost cells—known as trophoblasts—from stem cells taken from placentas of women who had preeclampsia during pregnancy.
Science Update: Fibroid risk associated with ancestry among Black and white women, NIH-funded study suggests
Among American Black and white women, the risk and extent of fibroids—benign tumors of the uterus—are associated with ancestry to distinct regions and populations, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study provides information that may lead to insights on the origins and treatments for these common tumors.
Science Update: Sleep disturbances do not appear to hinder birth rate in women with common infertility disorder, NIH study suggests
Sleep disturbances, common in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), do not appear to hinder conception and live birth rates for women undergoing treatment for infertility, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the researchers found that for women with PCOS, insulin resistance—a risk factor for type 2 diabetes—was associated with lower conception and live birth rates.
Media Advisory: More than two hours of daily screen time linked to cognitive, behavioral problems in children born extremely preterm
Among 6- and 7-year-olds who were born extremely preterm—before the 28th week of pregnancy—those who had more than two hours of screen time a day were more likely to have deficits in overall IQ, executive functioning (problem solving skills), impulse control and attention, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: NIH-funded data resource advances understanding of diseases identified by newborn screening
A data resource established with NICHD funding is helping advance research to understand and improve health outcomes for babies with rare genetic diseases identified by newborn screening.
Science Update: Home visit program after birth may reduce incidence of child maltreatment, NIH study suggests
A program providing new parents with one to three home visits from a nurse soon after the birth of a child was associated with 39% fewer child protective service investigations for maltreatment through age five, compared to parents who received usual newborn services, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Families receiving the visits also had 33% fewer emergency department visits.
Release: NIH COVID-19 testing initiative funds additional research projects to safely return children to in-person school
The National Institutes of Health is funding five additional projects to identify ways of safely returning students and staff to in-person school in areas with vulnerable and underserved populations. The awards are the second installment of the Safe Return to School Diagnostic Testing Initiative, launched earlier this year as part of the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program. The new awards will provide up to $15 million over two years for five projects in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nebraska and Florida. The 8 initial awards, totaling $33 million over two years, were made in April 2021.
Release: NIH data challenge seeks innovative methods for identifying complication risks in first-time pregnancies
The National Institutes of Health will award up to $400,000 to individuals or groups who design an effective method for analyzing a large data set of first-time pregnancies and identifying risk factors for adverse outcomes, such as hypertensive disorders, diabetes and infection. A total of $50,000 will be awarded to each of seven winners designing the most effective means to analyze the data. An additional $10,000 will be awarded to the top five winners whose methods identify risk factors in disadvantaged populations.
Director's Corner: We STRIVE to Do Better
Dr. Bianchi reflects on the life and contributions of Eunice Kennedy Shriver ahead of Mrs. Shriver’s 100th birthday and how improving equity, diversity, and inclusion at NICHD continues Mrs. Shriver’s work.
Science Update: NIH-funded study confirms safety of aspirin to reduce preterm birth risk in low- and middle-income countries
An analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health confirmed the safety of daily low-dose aspirin to prevent preterm birth in first-time mothers with a singleton pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries. Compared to the placebo group, those in the aspirin group were no more likely to require an unexpected emergency medical visit or to experience any side effects, other than a mild skin rash.
Science Update: Adopting national standards reduces pediatric deaths in emergency departments, according to NIH-and HRSA-funded study
A federally funded study has verified that a set of measures designed to improve treatment of children in hospital emergency departments helps to reduce the pediatric death rate in these centers. Compared to children treated in emergency departments that scored lowest on implementing the measures, children treated in emergency departments that scored highest were 42% less likely to die. The authors concluded that the findings support emergency departments adopting these standards to improve care for children.
Science Update: Preterm birth risk increased among pregnant women at time of Kennedy assassination, according to NIH study
Women in the first trimester of pregnancy when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 were more likely to deliver preterm compared to women who gave birth before the assassination, according to an analysis by NIH-funded researchers. The findings suggest that experiencing a sudden stress early in pregnancy may increase the risk of adverse birth outcomes.
Media Advisory: Higher dose of DHA associated with lower early preterm birth rate, NIH-funded study finds
Women assigned to 1,000 mg of an omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), daily in the last half of pregnancy had a lower rate of early preterm birth (<34 weeks gestation) than women who took the standard dose of 200 mg, found in many prenatal supplements, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Women who entered the study with low baseline DHA levels had the greatest reduction in early preterm birth.
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.
Science Update: NIH-funded study raises possibility that outermost placental cells may halt spread of SARS-CoV-2
Trophoblasts—the outermost fetal cells of the placenta—may be able to contain SARS-CoV-2 and prevent it from spreading to the fetus even though these cells appear to be susceptible to infection by the virus, a study by NIH-funded researchers suggests. Further research into how trophoblasts might contain the virus could lead to ways to prevent COVID-19 in children and adults. The findings may also lead to insights on why fetuses are only rarely infected with SARS-CoV-2.