Antibodies given to pregnant people to target cytomegalovirus appeared to have no benefits for their children by age two, suggests a follow-up study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The virus can cross the placenta and infect the fetus and full effects of the infection during pregnancy may not appear until a child is two years old. Like the original study, the follow-up found no differences between children of pregnant individuals who received the treatment and those who received a placebo.
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.
Science Update: MRI technique may predict impaired fetal growth and small size at birth, NIH-funded study suggests
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique administered as early as the 14th week of pregnancy may predict the chances of impaired fetal growth. The technique measures the ability of the placenta to supply blood to the fetus. It appears to allow earlier diagnosis than the standard technique, ultrasound of the placenta, which can diagnose reductions in maternal blood flow to the placenta at 20 to 24 weeks. Earlier detection of fetal growth restriction and those at risk for being small for their gestational age at birth may lead to strategies for treating these conditions.
Media Advisory: Cervical pessary no more effective than usual care in preventing preterm birth risk
A device known as a pessary, thought promising for reducing preterm birth risk due to a short cervix, appears no more effective than usual medical care, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. A pessary is a rounded silicone device that fits around a cervix that has shortened, to keep it from opening and leading to miscarriage or preterm birth. The device is typically removed before the 37th week of pregnancy.
Science Update: Prenatal depression may increase risk of cardiovascular disease after birth, NICHD-funded study suggests
Depression from six weeks gestation through the end of pregnancy may increase the risk of heart and blood vessel disease up to two years after birth, suggests an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Item of Interest: NIH selects next round of winners in the Connecting the Community for Maternal Health Challenge
NIH has announced the next round of winners of its Connecting the Community for Maternal Health Challenge—a $3 million prize competition to encourage community-based and advocacy organizations in the United States to develop the infrastructure and capabilities necessary to conduct maternal health research.
Release: Tranexamic acid does not appear to prevent maternal hemorrhage after cesarean delivery
Tranexamic acid appears no more effective than placebo in reducing the need for blood transfusion or preventing maternal death in patients with increased risk for excessive bleeding because of cesarean delivery, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Tranexamic acid slows the natural breakdown of blood clots and was considered promising for reducing the risk of excessive bleeding after giving birth—known as postpartum hemorrhage—after cesarean delivery.
Item of Interest: NIH selects next round of winners in the RADx® Tech for Maternal Health Challenge
The National Institutes of Health announced the next round of winners of its RADx® Tech for Maternal Health Challenge—an $8 million prize competition to accelerate development of technologies to improve maternal health outcomes.
Media Advisory: New MRI method provides detailed view of the placenta during pregnancy
NIH-funded technique enables automatic detection of placental compartments, oxygen status and structural abnormalities.
Release: NIH launches $8 million prize competition to reduce maternal deaths in regions that lack maternity care
The National Institutes of Health is offering up to $8 million in cash prizes to accelerate development of technologies to improve maternal health outcomes for those who live in areas lacking access to maternity care.
Science Update: Hormone prevents obesity in offspring of pregnant mice with obesity, according to NIH-funded study
Giving the hormone adiponectin to pregnant mice with obesity prevented later life obesity and related health conditions in their offspring, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings suggest that adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat cells, could play a role in reducing the lifelong obesity risk of children born to mothers with obesity during pregnancy.
Science Update: Placental inflammation could explain link between air pollution and pregnancy complications, NIH-funded study in mice suggests
The increase in pregnancy complications linked to air pollution exposure could result from the pollutants’ direct effects on the placenta, suggests a study in mice funded by the National Institutes of Health. Placentas of mice exposed to a mixture of common urban air pollutants before and during pregnancy were inflamed and had a loss of blood vessel cells. The study authors say the findings could provide insight into how air pollution might affect pregnancies and lead to strategies for preventing pregnancy complications.
Director's Corner: Visualizing The Placenta, a Critical but Poorly Understood Organ
The placenta supports pregnancy and influences the lifelong health of both mother and child. Yet it is the least understood, and least studied, of all human organs. In a guest post for the NIH Director’s Blog, Dr. Bianchi discusses work from NICHD’s Human Placenta Project to understand how the placenta functions in real time during pregnancy.
Science Update: NIH study identifies potential prenatal risk factors for suicide
An individual’s risk for death by suicide may begin before they are born, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The authors compared pregnancy and birth records of nearly 50,000 individuals born between 1959 and 1966 to death records through 2016. They found that suicide rates were higher for males, white people, and for those who were among the younger siblings in a family. Other risk factors included having a parent with less than a high school education, having a parent who worked a manual labor job, and having a mother with a high rate of pregnancy complications or who smoked during pregnancy.
Media Advisory: Sleep-disordered breathing in early pregnancy linked to insulin resistance
Sleep-disordered breathing in early pregnancy is associated with insulin resistance or difficulty clearing glucose from the blood, suggests a small study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The results strengthen the link between sleep-disordered breathing, which includes pauses or slowing of breathing during sleep, and gestational diabetes. They also suggest that screening pregnant women, particularly those with overweight or obesity, for sleep-disordered breathing could identify those who might benefit from early interventions to reduce their diabetes risk.
Item of Interest: PregSource® Mobile App Allows Access from Anywhere
It just got easier to participate in the PregSource®: Crowdsourcing to Understand Pregnancy research project. The free app allows participants to track their weight, sleep, mood, and other features of their pregnancy in just a few taps.
Release: NIH announces winners of data challenge to identify risk factors for first-time pregnancies
Awarded projects seek to reduce pregnancy complications and prevent maternal deaths.
Item of Interest: Una Grewal Appointed Director of the Division of Population Health Research
Dr. Grewal has been acting director of the division since February 2020.
Spotlight: Developing Mobile Health Solutions for Women in Guatemala
NIH-supported program reduces maternal deaths, complications in rural Guatemalan communities.
Release: Eating habits change only slightly after gestational diabetes diagnosis, NIH study suggests
Pregnant women made only modest dietary changes after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes, according to a study by NICHD researchers.
Director's Corner: A Mother’s Day Message: Time for Action to Improve Maternal Health
NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi is joined by NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health Director Dr. Janine Clayton in assessing the growing maternal health crisis in the United States and describing NIH’s efforts to address it.