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.
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.
Media Advisory: Prototype device may diagnose common pregnancy complications by monitoring placental oxygen
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed a prototype device that could potentially diagnose pregnancy complications by monitoring the oxygen level of the placenta.
Media Advisory: Healthy diet before and during pregnancy linked to lower risk of complications, NIH study suggests
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.
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: COVID vaccines in pregnancy boost maternal and newborn immunity, NIH-funded study suggests
Current vaccines to prevent COVID-19 are highly effective in producing antibodies in pregnant people, resulting in more antibodies than what is generated from a natural SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, antibodies produced after vaccination are present in breastmilk and travel across the placenta, indicating that vaccination during pregnancy will also confer immunity to newborns.
Director's Corner: Advancing Research to Understand, Treat, and Prevent Long COVID
For many COVID-19 patients, full recovery remains elusive even long after they should feel “better.” NIH recently announced research opportunities to understand COVID-19 long haulers, who have what researchers now refer to as Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). NICHD joins these opportunities while remaining focused on PASC patients within our audiences of interest—pregnant and lactating people, children, and those with disabilities.
Release: NIH funds study to evaluate remdesivir for COVID-19 in pregnancy
A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health will evaluate the effects of remdesivir in pregnant women who have been prescribed the drug to treat COVID-19. The study, which will be conducted at 17 sites in the continental United States and Puerto Rico, aims to determine how pregnant women metabolize the drug and whether there are any potential side effects.
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.
Science Update: Hormonal IUD as effective as a copper IUD at emergency contraception and with less discomfort, NICHD-funded study suggests
A hormone-releasing intrauterine device (IUD) appears to be as effective at emergency contraception as a copper IUD, suggests a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The hormone-releasing IUD contains levonorgestrel, a synthetic form of the reproductive hormone progesterone. Compared to the copper IUD, the levonorgestrel IUD has been shown to reduce heavy bleeding and menstrual discomfort.
Media Advisory: Severe COVID-19 in pregnancy associated with preterm birth, other complications
NIH-funded study suggests mother-to-infant transmission appears to be rare
Science Update: Childbirth during COVID-19 pandemic associated with anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, NIH-supported study suggests
Increased stress may interfere with adjustment to new motherhood, mother-infant bonding
Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2020
Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2020.
Release: Pregnant women in third trimester unlikely to pass SARS-CoV-2 infection to newborns
Pregnant women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, during the third trimester are unlikely to pass the infection to their newborns, suggests an NIH-funded study.
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.
Media Advisory: Negative pressure wound therapy does not cut infection risk in obese women after cesarean delivery
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) does not appear to lower the risk of infection for obese women after cesarean delivery, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The treatment involves placing a low-pressure pump over a closed surgical wound to create negative air pressure. Earlier studies had suggested that NPWT might reduce infection risk and promote healing after surgery. The study of more than 1,600 obese women found no significant difference in infection between women treated with NPWT and those receiving standard wound dressing.
Media Advisory: NIH-supported study to track prevalence and impact of SARS-CoV-2 among pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries
The study of approximately 16,000 pregnant women will continue 12 months after childbirth and compare maternal, fetal and newborn outcomes of participants infected with the virus to those of pregnant women who have not.
Media Advisory: New tool compares rates of severe pregnancy complications across U.S. hospitals
Scoring system developed by NIH-funded researchers standardizes patient data to aid research, surveillance and improvement initiatives.