In the last 10 years, U.S. mothers have been dying in childbirth at shocking rates: Compared to other developed countries, three times as many U.S. …
Category: Pregnancy
Sexual assault prevention program reduces pregnancy-related school dropouts in Kenya
Girls and young women in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, are very vulnerable to sexual assault. Fortunately, as I've reported before, the nonprofit No Means …
Avoiding first-time cesareans: Stanford-based center releases new guidelines
Cesarean births have risen dramatically in recent years, from 22 percent of all births across the country in 1996 to 33 percent in 2008. Although …
Stanford researchers are getting closer to understanding prematurity predictors
The nerve-wracking thing about being pregnant is that growing a baby is a black-box endeavor. Yes, you can read online about what piece of fruit …
The latest on the pregnancy risks for women with lupus
Women with lupus, an autoimmune disorder that can attack a variety of tissues, were once counseled to avoid pregnancy. Now, physicians tailor their advice to …
A look at hypertension in pregnancy
Most people know that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a common condition. What many might not know is that it's also one of the most …
Ending preventable stillbirth: A Q&A with Stanford global-health expert Gary Darmstadt
Today, prominent medical journal The Lancet publishes "Ending Preventable Stillbirth," a series of articles calling for global efforts to greatly reduce fetal deaths that occur …
Reducing cesarean delivery rates, without jeopardizing safety
Approximately one-third of all babies born in the United States are currently delivered by cesarean section, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. …
Mouse placental cells contain dozens, even hundreds, of copies of genes key for pregnancy
Peering inside a mouse placental cell is a bit like looking at a fun-house mirror. Rather than the standard two copies of each chromosome (mice …
New drug target for treating preterm labor identified in Stanford study
Here’s one of the biggest mysteries of pregnancy: How does the uterus muscle manage to stay quiet for most of gestation, yet shift to big, …
Higher blood sugar in pregnancy tied to heart defects in baby, even if mom isn’t diabetic
For many years, doctors have known that women who had diabetes during pregnancy faced an increased risk of giving birth to a baby with a …
Maternal-fetal “chimera” cells: What do they actually do?
After a woman is pregnant, fetal cells linger in her body long after her baby is brought out into the world. They cross the placenta …
Reality TV influences perspectives on pregnancy, study shows
A new University of Cincinnati study on the influence that television programs have on pregnant women has found that most women are more affected by TV representations …
Rare African genes might reduce risks to pregnant women and their infants
When Hugo Hilton began working at Stanford as a young researcher several years ago, his supervisor set him to work on a minor problem so …
Stanford microbiome research offers new clues to the mystery of preterm birth
Premature birth affects 450,000 U.S. babies each year and is the leading cause of newborn deaths. But in about half of cases, doctors never figure …
“The Mama Sherpas”: Exploring the work of nurse-midwives and their collaborations with doctors
As a doula, I'm pretty tapped into the birth community, and I've definitely noticed a trend toward midwifery care and low-intervention births. Indeed, a 2012 study showed …