Advanced maternal age linked with increased risk of preterm birth
Women who plan for a baby at the age of 40 and above may increase the risk of delivering preterm before the 37th week of pregnancy. The study focused on preterm babies delivered during weeks 32 to 36 of pregnancy, as well as on extremely premature infants delivered before 32 weeks
The higher risk of preterm births for women over 40 may not be completely explained by their greater use of reproductive technology or medical interventions like induced labour or planned caesarean deliveries, a Canadian study suggests. The study confirmed that women over 40 do have the highest risk of preterm births: 7.8 % of pregnancies […]
These are some of the conclusions of the Pregnancy Outcome Prediction (POP) study published this week in PLOS Medicine by David Wastlund of the University of Cambridge, UK, and colleagues. Undiagnosed breech presentation—when a baby’s buttocks or feet emerge first at birth—increases the risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality. In current practice, fetal presentation is 
The study was led by a team at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) that was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). Early detection of diabetes is important in children and youth, as many — about 25 per cent, are diagnosed when seeking care for diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially 
With the increasing prevalence of childhood asthma since the 1980s, there has been a concerted effort to identify factors that could be the cause of the observed rise in the number of children developing asthma. Since caloric intake from added sugars, most notably in sugary drinks, has also increased over this time frame, researchers have 
Women who take multivitamins and folic acid during or before pregnancy cut the risk of their children developing autism by nearly three quarters, according to new research. A study of more than 45,000 children whose mothers had taken supplements were 73 per cent less likely to be on the autism spectrum. Mothers who consumed the 
Though the condition varies between people, symptoms commonly include repetitive behaviour, difficulties adapting to change, and trouble in social situations. Exactly what causes autism and how it develops is still up for debate, but it is widely recognised that there is likely to be interplay between environmental and genetic factors. Much headway has been made 
A study finds pregnant women with low vitamin D levels at 20 weeks more likely to have a child with autistic traits The important role vitamin D plays in early life is back in the spotlight after Australian researchers noticed a link between a deficiency during pregnancy and autism. The study found pregnant women with 
The research, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, found that exposing foetuses to chronic hypoxia (low oxygen levels) during development led to them having advanced ageing of the ovaries and fewer eggs available. Hypoxia in the womb can be caused by a number of factors, including smoking, pre-eclampsia, maternal obesity, and living at 
The findings of the study were presented on March 24 at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society’s annual conference. The results of the study are published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 104, Issue 3, March 2019. The team announced that the new drug called 11-beta-MNTDC, has passed a 28-day trial with the