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Women with asthma are more likely than normal to gain weight during pregnancy and to retain weight 3 months after giving birth, suggests a National Institutes of Health study. On average, women with asthma gained 3.1 kg (just under 7 lbs) more after a full-term pregnancy than women without asthma. Among women with asthma, weight gain was greater with obesity. Weight gain was also greater with more severe asthma and with asthma triggered by exercise. The study authors suggest that their findings underscore the importance of pre-pregnancy counseling for women with asthma on the need to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

National Institutes of Health researchers have discovered a gene in mice that controls the craving for fatty and sugary foods and the desire to exercise. The gene, Prkar2a, is highly expressed in the habenula, a tiny brain region involved in responses to pain, stress, anxiety, sleep and reward. The findings could inform future research to prevent obesity and its accompanying risks for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The pandemic reinforces why the NIH INCLUDE (INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE) Project matters to families and communities.

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) does not appear to lower the risk of infection for obese women after cesarean delivery, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The treatment involves placing a low-pressure pump over a closed surgical wound to create negative air pressure. Earlier studies had suggested that NPWT might reduce infection risk and promote healing after surgery. The study of more than 1,600 obese women found no significant difference in infection between women treated with NPWT and those receiving standard wound dressing.

Exercise during pregnancy stimulates fetal production of brown fat, which boosts metabolism and burns calories, even after birth, suggests a mouse study funded by the National Institutes of Health. When fed a high-fat diet, mice born to mothers who exercised had less weight gain than mice whose mothers did not exercise.

Maternal obesity may increase a child’s risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to an analysis by NICHD researchers.

Read about NICHD’s notable research findings and activities from 2019.

NICHD’s new initiative—Pregnancy for Every Body—educates plus-size pregnant women about healthy pregnancy and the importance of working with a healthcare provider to develop a pregnancy plan.

Teen girls—but not boys—who prefer to go to bed later are more likely to gain weight, compared to same-age girls who go to bed earlier, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

A high genetic risk score for cholesterol and other blood lipids among pregnant women is linked to fetal weight, but varies according to the mother’s racial and ethnic group and obesity status, suggests an analysis by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

NIH-supported research calls for well-defined standards for infants between 6 months and 1 year

A high genetic risk of obesity among pregnant women is linked to fetal weight, but varies according to race, fetal sex, and other factors, according to a study by researchers at the NICHD.

Youth who said they were teased or ridiculed about their weight increased their body mass by 33 percent more each year, compared to a similar group who had not been teased, according to 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.

The drug colchicine, used to treat the arthritic condition gout, could potentially reduce complications accompanying metabolic syndrome, a combination of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and other conditions that increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

On April 8, 2019, join community organizations and healthcare professionals to discuss strategies for reducing the rising rate of maternal deaths in the United States.

Nutrition is vital to health, growth, and development through all stages of life. Poor nutrition causes health problems and can contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and other diseases. NIH recently released a draft of its first-ever Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research to focus efforts in advancing the scientific understanding of interactions between diet, nutritional status, biological processes, and the environment.

Excessive weight gain during pregnancy could permanently slow metabolism and lead to weight gain in later life, according to the results of a mouse study funded by the National Institutes of Health.