News

Women who breastfed for two years or longer had higher blood levels of anti-Müllerian hormone and later onset of menopause, compared to women who breastfed for one month or less, according to an NICHD-supported analysis. The findings also suggest that previously observed relationships between menopause timing and the number of times a woman gave birth may be largely attributable to breastfeeding.

NICHD has supported gynecologic and reproductive health research for decades. Learn more about its leading role in menstruation research.

Women who breastfed their infants exclusively for 7 to 12 months may have a significantly lower risk of early menopause than their peers who breastfed their infants for less than a month, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.

NIH invites scientists, advocacy and family groups, representatives from federal and local agencies, and others to provide comments and suggestions on its draft research plan on Fragile X syndrome and associated conditions.

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

Six young women with a disorder that mimics menopause have gene alterations that hamper the repair of damaged DNA, report researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.

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.

Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have a new theory as to why a woman’s fertility declines after her mid-30s. They also suggest an approach that might help slow the process, enhancing and prolonging fertility.

On December 5, 2012, the NICHD released the Scientific Vision: The Next Decade, the culmination of a collaborative process that began in 2011 to identify the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and the research community to pursue over the next decade. The Vision statement was made available during the NICHD’s 50th anniversary colloquium.

​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

As the Institute marks its golden anniversary, we look back on the NICHD's early years, its scientific accomplishments, and its future.

Researchers confirmed that a daily, combined dose of estrogen and progestin increases breast cancer risk in post menopausal women, but added that this risk begins to return to normal about six months after women stop taking the hormones.