News & Updates

NIH-funded researchers have identified a gene that appears to be a crucial signal for the beginning of puberty in human beings as well as in mice.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has selected 15 outstanding scientists for its Hall of Honor, which recognizes scientists supported by the Institute for exceptional contributions to advancing knowledge and improving maternal and child health.

Researchers funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) are seeking volunteers for a study to treat infertility in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

The well-being of America's children has improved in many respects, with infant and childhood death rates continuing to drop, fewer adolescents smoking, fewer children exposed to secondhand smoke, fewer adolescent girls giving birth, and more adolescents taking honors courses.

The more time children spent in child care from birth to age four-and-a-half, the more adults tended to rate them, both at age four-and-a-half and at kindergarten, as less likely to get along with others, as more assertive, as disobedient, and as aggressive, according to a study appearing in the July/August issue of Child Development.

Vulvodynia is a condition characterized by burning, stinging, irritation, or rawness of the female genital area when there is no apparent infection or skin disease that could cause these symptoms.

NIH funded researchers report that some women who have infertility as a result of endometriosis lack molecules in the uterus that allow the embryo to attach to the uterine wall.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA), and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) will sponsor a regional summit meeting May 30-31 in Detroit as part of a national campaign to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in African American communities.

A team of researchers reports that infants who are placed to sleep on their backs are not at increased risk for health problems, and they are less likely to develop fevers, get stuffy noses, or develop otitis media (ear infection).

Infants who share a bed with other children are at a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than are other infants, according to the most recent analysis of a study of predominantly African American SIDS deaths in Chicago.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) will conduct a large study to determine whether a new surgery to correct spina bifida in the womb is safer and more effective than the traditional surgery to correct the disorder, which takes place a few days after birth.

Bullying is not just a normal, if unpleasant, part of growing up, according to Federal researchers. Rather, children who bully other children appear to be at risk for engaging in more serious violent behaviors, such as frequent fighting and carrying a weapon. Moreover, victims of bullying also are at risk for engaging in these kinds of violent behaviors.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has selected the first eight research units for the Global Network for Women's and Children's Health Research, an international research network to improve the health of women and children throughout the world.

Teens-particularly girls-with strong religious views are less likely to have sex than are less religious teens, largely because their religious views lead them to view the consequences of having sex negatively.

The Women in the NAACP (WIN) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have joined forces with two national African American women's organizations to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the African American community.

Mothers' transition from welfare to employment did not seem to have any negative effects on preschoolers or young adolescents, according to a study by researchers at Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Boston College.

Infants accustomed to sleeping on their backs who are then placed to sleep on their stomachs or sides are at an increased risk for SIDS-greater than the increased SIDS risk of infants always placed on their stomachs or sides.

America's young children may not be getting enough vigorous physical exercise through their schools' physical education (PE) programs, suggests the latest analysis by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.

In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has joined forces with three national African American Women's organizations in a year-long program to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among African American infants.

NIH scientists have shown that a common gene variant influences memory for events in humans by altering a growth factor in the brain's memory hub.