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Contrary to previous findings, low-dose aspirin therapy before conception and during early pregnancy may increase pregnancy chances and live births among women who have experienced one or two prior miscarriages, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Rather than looking solely at the difference in pregnancy rates between women who were given aspirin and those receiving a placebo, the study also accounted for differences in total aspirin use between women who deviated from the daily regimen and those who adhered to it.

Increased stress may interfere with adjustment to new motherhood, mother-infant bonding

Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2020.

Women who use marijuana could have a more difficult time conceiving a child than women who do not use marijuana, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

For pregnant women with COVID-19 in the third trimester, antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus appear to be transferred to the fetus at lower levels, compared to antibodies against two other respiratory diseases, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. However, one type of antibody against SARS-CoV-2 was transferred to the fetus more efficiently than the other antibodies against the virus, raising the possibility of at least some immune protection against the disease for the newborn.

Pregnant women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, during the third trimester are unlikely to pass the infection to their newborns, suggests an NIH-funded study.

Vegetarian diets during pregnancy are associated with small infant birth weight, but not a higher risk preterm birth or other medical complications, suggests a National Institutes of Health study.

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 study suggests women with mood disorders, gestatational diabetes may have a higher risk.

The plant compound apigenin improved the cognitive and memory deficits usually seen in a mouse model of Down syndrome, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. Apigenin is found in chamomile flowers, parsley, celery, peppermint and citrus fruits. The findings raise the possibility that a treatment to lessen the cognitive deficits seen in Down syndrome could one day be offered to pregnant women whose fetuses have been diagnosed with Down syndrome through prenatal testing.

Traces of genetic material from the placenta and other organs circulating in a pregnant woman’s blood stream could potentially be used to predict the risk for complications in later pregnancy, according to a new NICHD-supported study.

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have used a rapid DNA sequencing technique to identify gene variants in roughly a third of cases of nonimmune Hydrops fetalis (NIHF), a serious condition in which a fetus develops fluid buildup inside the abdominal cavity, lungs, or other parts of the body. The findings suggest that the DNA sequencing technique, known as exome sequencing, could be used to provide information unavailable with current genetic testing methods.

The study of approximately 16,000 pregnant women will continue 12 months after childbirth and compare maternal, fetal and newborn outcomes of participants infected with the virus to those of pregnant women who have not.

Opioid use among women trying to conceive may be associated with a lower chance of pregnancy, suggests a National Institutes of Health study. Moreover, opioid use in early pregnancy may be associated with a greater chance of pregnancy loss.

Scoring system developed by NIH-funded researchers standardizes patient data to aid research, surveillance and improvement initiatives.

The placental membranes that contain the fetus and amniotic fluid lack the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule required to manufacture the ACE2 receptor, the main cell surface receptor used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to cause infection, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

New tools estimate fetal growth percentiles and velocity, and they account for racial and ethnic variations.

A mouse study funded by the National Institutes of Health suggests that a step in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure could account for the higher rate of complications in pregnancies resulting from this form of assisted reproductive technology (ART). The researchers linked the culture of embryos in laboratory dishes after fertilization with impaired growth of the placenta, smaller fetal size, and a higher risk of preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy-related blood pressure disorder.

Compared to other women, deaf and hard of hearing women have a higher risk for pregnancy and birth complications such as gestational diabetes and blood pressure disorders, according to a study funded by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Moreover, infants of deaf and hard of hearing women were more likely to be born preterm, have low birth weight, and receive a low Apgar score—a screening test used to determine the baby’s need for additional medical services.

Environmental, biological samples span the period from preconception to early childhood.