The United States is still struggling with pregnancy health, according to a recent report. For the fourth year in a row, the country received a D+ grade. This means that one out of every 10 babies is born too early. In 2024, nearly 380, 000 babies were born prematurely. This rate is one of the highest among developed nations. Things are getting worse for some groups...
Early life experiences and surroundings play a big role in how a child's brain grows. Two key factors are being born too early and the family's social and economic status. Researchers wanted to see how these factors affect the brain's white matter, which is crucial for communication between brain cells. They looked at two groups of kids: those born prematurely and t...
The birth of a baby before 37 weeks is called preterm birth. It can lead to various health problems for the newborn. Doctors and scientists are trying to understand why this happens. They are looking at the role of stress in the cells of the placenta. This stress is known as endoplasmic reticulum stress or ERS. It is linked to inflammation at the point where the moth...
Did you know that betamethasone, a medication commonly used to speed up lung and heart development in preterm babies, could actually change how blood flows in their bodies during and after birth? Scientists studied this in baby lambs, which are often used to understand human infants better. They found that betamethasone increases blood flow to the lungs but reduces i...
In sub-Saharan Africa, where 40% of the world's neonatal deaths happen, preterm birth (PTB) is a major concern. Researchers in Kenya have been working to understand what factors might put pregnant women at risk for PTB. They looked at a mix of things like demographics, medical history, and how a woman feels emotionally. By combining all these factors, they created a ...
Ever wondered what causes very early or early preterm births in twin pregnancies after in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)? A recent study looked into this. Scientists at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital analyzed 2042 twin pregnancies from 2019 to 2022. They found that around 4% of these pregnancies ended very early (before 28 weeks), 12...