News & Updates

For children who have been HIV-infected since birth, current anti-HIV drug regimens may protect against the delays in puberty that had been seen in HIV-infected children taking older regimens, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Tonse N. K. Raju, M.D., was named Chief of the Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch (PPB) on August 8, 2013.

In a Notice of Intent, officials at NICHD and other NIH institutes and centers announced that they plan to continue a program supporting research collaborations between Extramural researchers (those outside the NIH) and Intramural researchers (those within the NIH). The effort seeks to foster projects that make the resources of the NIH Clinical Center available to Extramural researchers.

Breastfeeding provides many benefits for both mother and baby. The NICHD and other agencies and organizations encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies to capitalize on the many benefits it provides.

Dr. Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D., has been appointed Chief of the new Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch, as announced in an email from Dr. Catherine Spong, M.D., Director of the Division of Extramural Research.

Research continues to ensure ART is the best it can be and that those who receive the treatment remain healthy. The NICHD and other NIH Institutes continue to make this research a priority through the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS).

In this research conversation, NICHD’s Dr. James Griffin talks with grantee Dr. Leslie Leve on her study, which found a strong association between a mother’s smoking during pregnancy and the chances that her child would have behavioral problems in school.

Dr. Brett Miller spoke with NICHD grantee Dr. Tom Mitchell, on using computers to recognize spoken words by analyzing the brain activity patterns of listeners.

A new test for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB)in children detects roughly two-thirds of cases identified by the current culture test, but in a fraction of the time, according to the results of a study in South Africa supported by the National Institutes of Health.

The combinations of anti-HIV drugs recommended for pregnant women do not appear in general to increase their children’s risk for language delay, according to a study from a National Institutes of Health research network.

Research is improving our understanding of CDH and the molecular and genetic factors that play a role in the condition. The activities are also opening possibilities for screening, prevention, and treatment of CDH.

This month’s NICHD Research Perspectives features the report America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being. Each year, 22 federal agencies collaborate to produce the report, a convenient reference for policymakers, the public, and anyone with in an interest in the nation’s children. It compiles key data about child and adolescent well-being in a variety of areas.

Children age 17 and under account for almost one quarter of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Because they make up such a large and important group in this country, and because their current health and well-being has implications for the nation’s future, a national priority is to monitor, protect, and improve children’s health and well-being.

The number of children living in the United States declined slightly, as did the percentage of the U.S. population who are children, according to the federal government’s annual statistical report on the well-being of the nation’s children and youth.

In May, the NICHD released the upgraded version of Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active!®, an interactive after-school curriculum designed to teach young people ages 11 to 13 about the complex media world around them, and about how media influences their nutrition and physical activity decisions. Now, the Institute follows suit with the launch of the new Media-Smart Youth Upgraded: Eat, Think, and Be Active! website.

HAP from smoky, inefficient stoves, cook fires, and fuels is a leading cause of death and disability around the world. Unsafe stoves not only cause severe pneumonia in children, and cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer in adults, but they also put women and children at risk for severe burns and scalds.

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.

text4baby the free service that texts important health information to expectant and new moms, will now offer messages for dads, too!

In the June NICHD Research Perspectives, NIH researchers and other experts described the health risks of indoor air pollution caused by cooking fires in the developing world and the research that needs to be undertaken to solve this problem.

Adults who have congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a disorder of the adrenal glands, may be eligible to take part in a study at the National Institutes of Health on the effectiveness of a new pump which delivers missing adrenal hormones in a manner more closely matching their release by the adrenal glands.