Young women with elevated blood pressure before pregnancy appear to have a greater risk of miscarriage, even if they haven’t been diagnosed with full-blown high blood pressure, a new study suggests. Risk of pregnancy loss increases about 18 percent for every 10-point increase in a young woman’s diastolic blood pressure (the lower number), which indicates… read on >
Women who have a baby with a congenital heart defect may face a heightened risk of heart disease years later, a large study suggests. Researchers found that among more than 1 million women, those who’d given birth to a baby with a heart defect were up to 43 percent more likely to be hospitalized for… read on >
A baby’s risk of death from being placed in an unsafe sleeping position or location is higher when they’re under the care of a baby sitter, relative or friend, a new study found. The finding shows the need for parents to educate anyone who cares for their infants about safe sleep practices and Sudden Infant… read on >
State laws that require child-seat use among kids eight and younger save lives, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Among states that issued stricter laws requiring car seats until a child is at least 7 years old, deaths and serious injuries among children in vehicles fell 17 percent, the agency says. Which… read on >
Scientists who found a way to use amniotic fluid to sequence the entire genome of a fetus say the breakthrough could significantly increase detection of genetic conditions during pregnancy. Researchers tweaked a common prenatal test called amniocentesis. In that procedure, amniotic fluid is taken from a pregnant woman’s uterus and analyzed for abnormalities in the… read on >
Parents annoyed by the loud music that their teens listen to might have good reason to worry. About 20 percent of American kids aged 12 to 19 have some degree of hearing loss, a national survey found. And, according to the World Health Organization, 50 percent of people up to age 35 are at risk… read on >
Besides staying alert, coffee lovers who drink more than three cups of java a day may lower their risk for clogged arteries, a new Brazilian study suggests. Scientists surveyed more than 4,400 residents of Sao Paulo about their coffee-drinking habits, and correlated them with coronary artery calcium (CAC) readings. CAC scans look for signs of… read on >
New research suggests that a special MRI technique can spot abnormal connections in the brains of preschoolers with autism. The discovery “may be a clue for future diagnosis and even for therapeutic intervention in preschool children with [autism],” study co-author Dr. Lin Ma, a radiologist at Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing, explained in a… read on >
All those hours spent reading bedtime stories may pay off for you and your little ones beyond language and brain development: New research suggests it’s also good for social and behavioral skills. Evaluating prior studies on parent-child reading in children up to age 6, researchers in Hong Kong found positive effects for both sides in… read on >
There’s another study that finds that taking the epilepsy drug valproate while pregnant may take an intellectual toll on offspring. Children whose mothers took the anti-seizure medication during pregnancy appear to get lower scores on school tests, the new study finds. The U.K. researchers pointed to prior studies with similar results, and they recommend that… read on >
