News & Updates

The placental membranes that contain the fetus and amniotic fluid lack the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule required to manufacture the ACE2 receptor, the main cell surface receptor used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to cause infection, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

NICHD was established more than 50 years ago to help understand maternal health and improve pregnancy outcomes. These selected advances highlight NICHD’s contributions to advancing the health and well-being of pregnant women, mothers, and families everywhere.

An arthritis drug reduced the severity of Zika virus-related birth defects and improved survival among baby mice, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

As 2018 winds down, a new slideshow highlights a selection of initiatives, therapies, and scientific advances supported by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

In 2018, researchers funded by NICHD made significant progress in advancing the health and well-being of infants, children, teenagers, and adults across the United States and around the world.

The severity of birth defects caused by Zika virus infection may be influenced by natural variations in a pregnant woman’s genes for a key enzyme, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

New findings raise the concern that Zika virus-associated pregnancy loss in people may be more common than currently thought.

Using a mild electrical current to either boost or inhibit the brain’s own electrical impulses may one day help rehabilitate its function, according to researchers funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Students who participated in an intensive childhood education program from preschool to third grade were more likely to achieve an academic degree beyond high school, compared to a similar group that received other intervention services as children, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Zika virus infection appears to affect oxygen delivery to the fetuses of pregnant monkeys, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Carmen Zorrilla, who leads NICHD’s Zika in Infants and Pregnancy (ZIP) study in Puerto Rico, reports on how Hurricane Maria affected the Island’s largest hospital in San Juan.

Hydroxychloroquine, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat malaria and certain autoimmune diseases in pregnant women, appears to reduce transmission of Zika virus from pregnant mice to their fetuses, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

The National Institutes of Health has launched a study to determine the potential risks that infection with the Zika virus might pose for pregnancies in which the mother is also infected with HIV.

Children exposed to Zika virus in the womb may face complex health and developmental problems as they grow older, according to discussions at an NIH workshop.

NICHD had a very productive year in 2016. Staff responded quickly to Zika virus and led the effort to develop the NIH Research Plan on Rehabilitation. The following snapshots are examples of the many advances made possible by NICHD this year.

NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi shares some thoughts about joining NICHD.

NICHD will host a workshop on September 22-23, 2016 to identify the best approaches for treating and caring for children exposed to Zika virus in the womb. Participants from the United States, Brazil and Puerto Rico, who are experts in obstetrics, maternal and pediatric infectious diseases, child development, rehabilitation and vaccine research, will deliver lectures and lead panel discussions.​

Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health will monitor potential Zika virus exposure among a subset of athletes, coaches and other U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) staff attending the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Brazil.

​The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz (Fiocruz) begin a multi-country study to evaluate the magnitude of health risks that Zika virus infection poses to pregnant women and their developing fetuses and infants.

Zika virus infects and crosses the placentas of pregnant mice and causes severe damage or death in fetal mice, report scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health.