Most embryos produced during IVF do not result in live births
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that 85 percent of embryos transferred during in vitro fertilization fail to become live births, highlighting the need for improving diagnostic techniques to identify viable embryos. Published in the August issue of Fertility and Sterility, the study reviewed seven years of U.S. statistics from all the fertility clinics that report data on...Improving outcomes in premature births
The costs due to complications from preterm birth are staggering. In Canada, outlays for specialized care of surviving preterm infants are estimated to be almost $2 billion per year. In a 5-year, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study, researchers found that giving nitroglycerin to mothers who had entered premature labor led to significant improvement in their baby’s health. The results of...Experimental vaccine given during pregnancy reduces stillbirths from common virus
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental vaccine that reduces stillbirths among rodents born to mothers infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV)—a common virus that can also cause mental retardation and hearing loss in newborn children who were infected in early fetal life. Estimates place the number of U.S. children born with CMV each year at about...Pitt study notes decline in male births in the US and Japan
A study published in this week’s online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives reports that during the past thirty years, the number of male births has decreased each year in the U.S. and Japan. In a review of all births in both countries, the University of Pittsburgh-led study found significantly fewer boys being born relative to girls in the U.S. and Japan, and that an increasing proporti...Premature births may be linked to seasonal levels of pesticides and nitrates in surface water
The growing premature birth rate in the United States appears to be strongly associated with increased use of pesticides and nitrates, according to work conducted by Paul Winchester, M.D., professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He reports his findings May 7 at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting, a combined gathering of the American Pediatric S...Chance of water births being urged for mums-to-be
A major child birth charity has urged midwives and hospitals in the UK to give mums-to-be the chance of a waterbirth. According to the charity, labour and birth in water offers a number of benefits over conventional practices for healthy women with an uncomplicated pregnancy at term. Past research has also shown that waterbirths tend to make women feel more in control and relaxed, resulting in le...Dental Procedure Reduces Preterm Births
A non-surgical dental procedure -- known as scaling and root planing -- may reduce the risk of preterm birth in pregnant women with periodontal disease, //according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham school of dentistry studied more than 350 pregnant women who had periodontitis -- a gum infection that destroys the fibers and supporting bone that ho...Decreasing Multiple Births By Single Embryo Transfers
Researchers say women opting to undergo a single embryo transfer instead of a double embryo transfer during in vitro fertilization can decrease the chance of multiple births without substantially lowering live births, // according to a new study. Researchers studied 661 women younger than 36 and compared the two approaches of in vitro fertilization. They also evaluated pregnancy rates re...New Research To Study Brain Changes In Premature Births
Professor Torsten Baldeweg and his colleagues from the Institute of Child Health will be studying the changes in brain of children’s who were born premature.// The study will focus on the changes in their brain activity during their life time. The study will help to identify and understand the problems in their brain which could help to support and assist treatment in these children’s. This study...Happiness in the wake of quake: 7,000 births every month
Encountering another problem after relief work in quake affected areas the United Nations (UN) has revealed that there is a shortage of female health workers and doctors in the quake-hit areas. // The pressure is felt that 80,000 women were pregnant and approximately 7,000 new births were taking place every month. Expressing concern UNFPA country representative Dr France Donny said th...