News & Updates

Contraception allows couples to prevent pregnancy or better control the timing of when they conceive. The NICHD’s Contraceptive Discovery and Development Branch (CDDB) supports research on new contraceptive methods, for women and for men, to meet the diverse needs of individuals throughout their reproductive lives.

This infographic has important tips to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other sleep-related causes of infant death.

On average, men die about five years earlier than women and have higher mortality rates from some cancers and heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s important, then, that men talk to their health care providers about what types of preventive medical tests and activities they need to stay healthy.

A new study found that bullying among students in grades six through ten declined significantly between 1998 and 2010. Fighting among students also declined, although less dramatically.

Researchers have found that hormone replacement therapy in young women with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) led to increases in their bone mineral density, restoring levels to normal.

Head Start is a program which provides low-income children with preschool education, health care, and nutrition services. A recent analysis of a national study on Head Start shows that 1 year of the program improves children’s math, literacy, and vocabulary skills.

Throughout May, the NICHD highlighted important information about women’s health, particularly women’s health research. These efforts coincided in part with National Women’s Health Week, from May 11 to 17.

Lisa M. Halvorson, M.D., has been named the new Chief of the Gynecologic Health and Disease Branch (GHDB), effective June 15, 2014, announced Dr. Catherine Spong, M.D., Director of the Division of Extramural Research.

Epidemiology, the study of patterns and causes of health and disease in populations, is foundational to public health. Scientists in the NICHD's Epidemiology Branch apply epidemiologic approaches to answer questions about infertility, menstrual problems, birth defects, and other health issues.

Todd Macfarlan, Ph.D, a biologist at the National Institutes of Health, was one of 102 researchers who received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

Exercise alone may help prevent gestational diabetes—which occurs in women during pregnancy—from progressing to Type 2 diabetes in the time after pregnancy, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

High cholesterol levels may impair fertility in couples trying to achieve a pregnancy, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the University at Buffalo (New York), and Emory University in Atlanta.

Alfred Nobel once said, “The observation of and the search for similarities and differences are the basis of all human knowledge.” For some NICHD-supported researchers, this search for similarities led in an unexpected direction.

NICHD podcasts provide a window into research that goes beyond descriptions in news releases. Learn about NICHD research and what the findings might mean for you, your family, and your community. Here's a round-up of some recent podcasts.

Researchers publishing in Science have found that disadvantaged children who attended a high-quality early childhood development program had, on average, become much healthier adults than those without the benefit of such a program.

The NICHD spent the last month highlighting important information about infertility.

Conversation between Rebecca Lazeration and three NICHD researchers who are working to advance the field of reproduction science.

The hormone oxytocin appears to increase social behaviors in newborn rhesus monkeys, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the University of Parma in Italy, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The findings indicate that oxytocin is a promising candidate for new treatments for developmental disorders affecting social skills and bonding.

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NIH-funded analysis identifies patterns of nicotine use across generations.