News & Updates

Children infected with HIV since birth benefit from two doses of the chickenpox vaccine, particularly when the first dose is given at least three months after the initiation of anti-HIV treatment, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Brain scans taken of newborns who received cooling treatment after blood or oxygen deprivation to the brain can predict the extent of a child’s recovery by 6 or 7 years of age, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research network.

An instructional program for parents helps young children retain the literacy skills and positive learning behaviors acquired in Head Start through to the end of the kindergarten year, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

In an effort to boost HIV testing, as well as the use of anti-HIV therapy among pregnant women in rural villages, researchers supported in part by NICHD assessed the effectiveness of a church-based screening program in Southern Nigeria.

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have shown that treating hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, in newborns according to current recommendations is safe and appears to prevent brain damage. 

A blood test that detects antibodies to the sexually transmitted bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis may be helpful in screening infertile women for pregnancy outcomes, according to a new study.

Infants exposed in the womb to a drug used to treat HIV and reduce the transmission of HIV from mother to child, may have lower bone mineral content than those exposed to other anti-HIV drugs, according to a National Institutes of Health study.

The National Institutes of Health has announced $46 million in research awards for the Human Placenta Project, an initiative to revolutionize understanding of the placenta. The awards will fund technology development and testing to assess placental function throughout pregnancy, with the ultimate goal of improving pregnancy outcomes and lifelong health.

Treatment with clomiphene, a standard therapy for couples with unexplained infertility, results in more live births than treatment with a potential alternative, letrozole, according to a study of more than 900 couples conducted by a National Institutes of Health research network.

Obese young women may be less likely to use birth control than their normal-weight peers, placing them at greater risk for unintended pregnancy, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Fetuses with enlarged ventricles—the fluid-filled cavities inside the brain—may be less likely than their counterparts to benefit from surgery in the womb to treat spina bifida, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Extremely preterm infants, those born before the 28th week of pregnancy, are surviving in greater numbers and escaping serious illness, according to a comprehensive review of births in a National Institutes of Health research network.

NICHD recently launched the NICHD Data and Specimen Hub (DASH), a centralized resource for researchers to store and access de-identified data from NICHD-funded research studies for secondary research use.

Many new mothers do not receive advice from physicians on aspects of infant care such as sleep position, breastfeeding, immunization and pacifier use, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Getting an adolescent with diabetes to look after a living animal, specifically a pet fish, may also encourage them to take better care of their diabetes, according to a study of youth with type 1 diabetes, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

In the U.S., more than 3,500 infants die each year from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, and from what experts describe as “other sleep-related causes of infant death.” Sparing families this incomprehensible tragedy has been a long-term goal of the National Institutes of Health.

The number of American infants born before the 37th week of pregnancy dropped slightly in 2013, as did the percentage of children with asthma under the age of 17. The percentage of teens who experienced a major depressive episode increased. These and other findings are described in America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2015.

For those who dream of being parents, pregnancy problems can be tremendously frustrating and disappointing. In recent decades, scientists have developed a wide range of approaches to help struggling couples have healthy babies. And NIH-funded studies are continuing to search for even better ways to overcome the challenges of infertility.

A technique to increase the flow of blood from the umbilical cord into the infant’s circulatory system improves blood pressure and red blood cell levels in preterm infants delivered by cesarean section, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

It may be trendy, but a new study has concluded there are no benefits to eating the placenta. In this NICHD podcast, the study author explains the rationale behind this controversial practice and describes what the science has found.