Preliminary data from NICHD-funded researchers provides caregiver-reported information on how children and teens fared during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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 app for mobile devices could screen children at risk for autism spectrum disorder
A mobile app was successful at distinguishing toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from typically developing toddlers based on their eye movements while watching videos, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings suggest that the app could one day screen infants and toddlers for ASD and refer them for early intervention, when chances for treatment success are greatest.
Release: NIH-funded COVID-19 testing initiative aims to safely return children to in-person school
The National Institutes of Health is awarding up to $33 million over two years to fund projects at 10 institutions across eight states to build evidence on safely returning students, teachers and support staff to in-person school in areas with vulnerable and underserved populations.
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.
Spotlight: Women in Science: Alison Cernich: A Practice in Resilience and Compassion
Read about the career and achievements of NICHD Deputy Director Dr. Alison Cernich.
Media Advisory: NIH-funded researchers develop language test for people with Down syndrome
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a test to evaluate the expressive language skills of people with Down syndrome, a condition resulting from an extra copy or piece of chromosome 21. Expressive language is the use of words to convey meaning to others. Language delays are common in people with Down syndrome, and the study authors believe their test provides a more effective way to evaluate prospective language interventions, compared to current evaluation methods.
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.
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.
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.
Release: NIH, DC government form partnership to reduce sleep-related infant deaths
The National Institutes of Health and the District of Columbia government are teaming up to raise awareness among District parents and caregivers about how to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and other sleep-related causes of infant death, such as accidental suffocation.
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.
Media Advisory: Graduates of comprehensive preschool program less likely to be obese in adulthood, NIH-funded study finds
Children in high-poverty neighborhoods who participated in a comprehensive preschool program that provided parents with health and educational services and job training had a lower body mass index in their late 30s than a similar group who participated in the usual early childhood programs, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study authors concluded that comprehensive, school-based early childhood programs could lead to improvements in body mass index later in life.
Science Update: NIH researchers shed light on symptoms of rare disease
NIH researchers have identified additional symptoms of EPAS1 gain-of-function syndrome, a rare disease resulting in hormone-secreting tumors and an increase in red blood cells.
Science Update: Eviction during pregnancy linked to earlier births, reduced birthweight, according to NICHD-funded study
Women facing eviction from their homes while they were pregnant are more likely to have poor birth outcomes, compared to women who faced eviction before or after they were pregnant, according to a study funded in part by NICHD.
Science Update: Consensus reached on radiation therapy for patients with rare tumors
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health led an international team to develop consensus guidelines on the appropriate use of a specialized form of radiation therapy for patients with pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma—rare cancers— that have spread.
Release: NIH effort seeks to understand MIS-C, range of SARS-CoV-2 effects on children
The National Institutes of Health has launched a new research effort to understand how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, affects children, who account for roughly 13% of the total cases of COVID-19 in the United States. The effort is called the Collaboration to Assess Risk and Identify LoNG-term Outcomes for Children with COVID (CARING for Children with COVID).
Director's Corner: Taking action against structural racism
Described by the acronym UNITE, the National Institutes of Health’s new initiative seeks to eliminate the pernicious threat of structural racism from the agency, the institutions it supports, and wherever NIH research takes place. In tandem with UNITE, NICHD’s STRIVE initiative seeks to reinforce workforce equity and inclusion, foster diversity in the institute’s external workforce, and identify new research opportunities to reduce such drivers of health disparity as structural racism and discrimination.
Media Advisory: Video coaching program may improve parenting skills and children’s school readiness
A video and coaching intervention program for at-risk mothers and infants increases parent-child interactions and helps to improve children’s social, emotional and language development, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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.
Spotlight: Developing Talent at NICHD
Meet Kyla Roland and Jacob Olondo-Kuba, who are part of NICHD’s Developing Talent Scholars Program.