News

Elevated blood pressure in the first trimester of pregnancy, or an increase in blood pressure between the first and second trimesters, raises the chances of a high blood pressure disorder of pregnancy, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Preterm infants with a lower-than-normal growth rate have key differences in the bacteria and other organisms that live in their digestive tracts, according to a study funded by the NICHD. Moreover, byproducts of metabolism in slow-growing preterm infants are like those found in malnourished children, despite receiving a diet appropriate for their age.

A research project funded by the National Institutes of Health has identified differences in the vaginal bacteria that may raise the risk of preterm birth among pregnant African American women. The findings could be a first step toward the development of a screen for the early identification of preterm birth risk in this population.

Patient advocates, healthcare providers and researchers help map a future research agenda aimed at reducing maternal mortality and severe morbidity.

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.

Group seeks to enhance testing of therapeutics used by pregnant women and nursing mothers.

The earlier in pregnancy a woman quits smoking, the less likely she is to give birth preterm, according to an analysis funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Similarly, the study found that the more a pregnant woman smoked, the higher her chances for preterm birth.

Each year in the United States, 700 women die from pregnancy or childbirth complications – one of the highest maternal death rates in the developed world. Listen to Milestones interview with Dr. Juanita Chinn from NICHD’s Population Dynamics Branch.

Some preterm infants produce a protein in response to inflammation that appears to protect them against birth-related brain injury, according to an analysis by researchers funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The substance, known as haptoglobin, is present in umbilical cord blood. Future studies could determine if testing preterm infants for haptoglobin identifies those who would benefit from interventions to prevent brain injury or lessen its effects.

Young children who live close to a major roadway are twice as likely to score lower on tests of communications skills, compared to those who live farther away from a major roadway, according to an analysis by 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.

Now available in DASH: Researchers can request access to NICHD biospecimens for secondary analyses.

An analysis of a previous study has found more evidence to support giving the steroid betamethasone to pregnant women at risk of late-preterm delivery (between 34 and 36 weeks of gestation), according to a network funded by the National Institutes of Health. Hospital stays for infants whose mothers received the drug cost less on average, compared to stays for infants whose mothers did not take the drug.

Newborns infected with herpes simplex virus (HSV) can be appropriately treated with acyclovir, a drug typically prescribed to adults for the treatment of HSV infections.

In 2018, researchers funded by NICHD made significant progress in advancing the health and well-being of infants, children, teenagers, and adults across the United States and around the world.

Contrary to results from earlier studies, the vitamin-like substance myo-inositol does not appear to prevent a potentially blinding complication of preterm birth and may even reduce rates of survival among preterm infants, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

As part of NICHD’s continued partnership with the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity®, Inc., the NICHD-led Safe to Sleep® campaign recently launched a mini-grant program to support fraternity members in conducting safe infant sleep outreach. The mini-grants will enable Kappa members to lead and host activities in their communities, where they can share safe infant sleep messages in culturally sensitive ways.

A drug combination aimed at preventing transmission of HIV from a pregnant woman to her fetus likely does not increase the risk for preterm birth and early infant death, according to a re-analysis of two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Extremely premature infants who received diuretic therapy to help overcome respiratory problems were more likely to require respiratory support, according to an NIH analysis.