News

The National Institutes of Health is offering up to $2 million in cash prizes to accelerate development of diagnostic and monitoring technologies to improve fetal health outcomes in low-resource settings.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

NIH has awarded $24 million in first-year funding to establish Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence. The centers will develop and evaluate innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths and promote maternal health equity.

The health of pregnant individuals and new mothers in the nation’s prisons should be prioritized to avoid future public health crises from COVID-19, according to an analysis by NICHD-funded investigators. Recommended policy changes include early release, when possible, because pregnant people are at high risk from COVID-19, and prisons are not well-equipped to provide the necessary medical care. Moreover, prisons should promote COVID-19 vaccination and develop targeted messages for this population to counteract vaccine misinformation.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has announced new funding for participating centers in its Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network.

Black people are about three times as likely as White people to die from a pregnancy-related cause, regardless of income or education level. The NIH-wide IMPROVE initiative works to reduce preventable pregnancy-related deaths and complications and promote health equity.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Researchers know that children born to mothers who have depression in pregnancy are at risk for developmental delays but haven’t known why. Now, a National Institutes of Health study suggests that depression persisting after pregnancy and reduced breastfeeding may account for at least part of the increased risk. Based on their results, researchers conclude that physicians may be able to reduce this risk by offering treatment for depression both during and after pregnancy and by counseling new mothers on how to breastfeed successfully.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a same-day test to identify abnormal fetal chromosomes.

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.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Findings from study highlight importance of preconception health for fathers.

The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Life-threatening pregnancy complications known as severe maternal morbidity (SMM) appear to be associated with an increased length of hospital stay for infants and an increase in the cost of caring for them, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings support the hypothesis that infants of mothers with SMM may also be at risk for severe complications. The authors concluded that helping patients to reduce their risk factors—in early pregnancy or before conception—may reduce the chances for SMM and improve the health of infants.

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.

Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2021.

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.

Dr. Grewal has been acting director of the division since February 2020.

As we usher in November and Thanksgiving, it’s a fitting time to reflect on NICHD’s commitment to research on nutrition.