A compelling new study suggests that activity in the placenta could be the missing link connecting environmental factors with genetics in relation to the development of many behavioral disorders, including schizophrenia.
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New research suggests that prenatal exposure to antidepressants, primarily selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can significantly affect fetal brain development. The paper concludes these changes could raise the risk of the offspring developing depression during puberty.
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A meta-analysis incorporating over 400 different studies has examined the effect of diet during pregnancy on a baby’s risk of developing allergies or eczema. The study concluded that a mother consuming fish oils or probiotics while pregnant can have positive effects on her baby’s well-being.
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A new study is throwing further weight behind the phenomenon known as "baby brain," where pregnant women report an absent-mindedness and decline in memory. The study is claimed to confirm once and for all that baby brain is indeed a genuine ailment.
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Stem cells have incredible potential for regenerative medicine, but getting hold of them can be tricky. Amniotic fluid may be a plentiful source, and now scientists in Sweden have developed a device to collect the fluid during delivery of a baby by caesarean section, to safely harvest stem cells.
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A team at Columbia University has studied the health records of over ten million people across three different countries and discovered some compelling links between a person’s lifetime disease risk and the month they were born in.
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One in four pregnant women will experience a miscarriage, and 7.9 million babies are born with a serious birth defect worldwide every year. A new study, however, indicates that simply taking vitamin B3 could cause those numbers to drop drastically.
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Every year, 15 million babies are born prematurely, and all sorts of complications arise. To care for those early arrivals, researchers created an artificial womb that let their organs fully develop. Animal tests show premature lambs developing normally after spending up to four weeks in the device.
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New research is throwing further weight behind the argument that unborn babies can benefit from vitamin D supplementation, linking its deficiency in pregnant mothers with autistic traits in the child a few years down the track.
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Caesarean sections have helped overcome many a life-threatening childbirth since becoming more commonplace in the 1950s, but what of their influence on human evolution?
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