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The Australian government, newly led by the Labor Party, will begin monitoring the performance of a government-funded pregnancy helpline operated by McKesson Asia-Pacific, the Australian reports. Former Health Minister Tony Abbott last year established the helpline with a four-year grant of 15.5 million Australian dollars, or about $13.6 million, with the aim of reducing the [...]

HHS and CDC officials on Wednesday said they are encouraged that the mortality rate of women and infants at the HHS-funded Rabia Balkhi Women’s Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, can be reduced, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. A team of experts — led by Mary Lou Valdez, deputy director of HHS’ Office of Global Health Affairs — [...]

A group of UK doctors have called on the UK government to proceed with folic acid fortification of flour to prevent neural tube defects in pregnancies, and not to be delayed by two papers which they say do not prove any connection between folic acid and colorectal cancer.
Dr Roger Bayston, Association for Spina Bifida and [...]

A popular epilepsy drug taken by pregnant women with epilepsy because of its mild risk of birth defects has been linked to increased seizure activity in up to 75 percent of pregnancies. Now, new research shows that monitoring the level of the drug in the blood helps to reduce the increased seizure activity associated with [...]

The past decade has seen an unprecedented increase in the use of radiologic exams on pregnant women, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“Through medical imaging examinations, we are exposing pregnant women to twice the amount of radiation as we did 10 years ago,” said [...]

Mothers have praised the good quality of care provided by NHS maternity services in a survey published today (Tuesday) by the Healthcare Commission.
But the results also highlight specific areas of concern and wide variations between trusts in responses to questions about postnatal care, communication, food and cleanliness.
Responses came from 26,000 women who gave birth in [...]

Babies whose mothers do not get enough essential B vitamins around the time of conception could be more at risk of Type 2 diabetes.
A study of female sheep showed that reducing their intake of B12 and folate (a form of vitamin B9) before pregnancy produced major physical effects in their offspring.
At only two years of [...]

The American Physiological Society (APS; http://www.the-aps.org/) has announced that it has presented its prestigious Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award to Joey P. Granger, Ph.D., of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The honor, now in its fifth year, is bestowed upon members of the APS who have made outstanding contributions to physiological [...]

A group of researchers of the University of Modena has investigated the role of psychological well being in premature delivery. The study is reported in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.The aim of this study was to evaluate how sociodemographic factors, psychosocial adaptation to pregnancy and well-being levels are associated with the onset of [...]