Predicting prenatal care to improve pregnancy outcomes

Socioeconomic factors, like education and location, can affect access to life-saving prenatal care services. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital are taking steps towards implementing strategies that improve access to prenatal care: estimating how many pregnant people attend the recommended number of visits and identifying pregnant people who are at high risk of failing to attend. This could help policymakers allocate resources […]

Fear of childbirth exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated fear of childbirth among pregnant people in the U.S., according to a new Dartmouth study. The researchers were particularly interested in understanding, from a U.S. context, which factors predict childbirth fear and how the pandemic has affected this fear and birth outcomes. The findings are published in Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. “Our results showed really high […]

An estimated one million stillbirths and newborn baby deaths could be prevented each year by implementing low-cost pregnancy interventions in low- and middle-income countries

Eight low-cost and easily implementable proven interventions for pregnant women in 81 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) could prevent an estimated 566,000 stillbirths and 5.2 million babies a year from being born preterm or small for gestational age—some with low birth weight—the impacts of which would also affect long-term health and economic output, says a new four-paper Series published in The […]

Telephone-based health coaching did not affect postpartum weight gain

Gestational diabetes (GDM) and overweight during pregnancy are associated with increased risk for type 2 diabetes. Although postpartum weight loss can reduce diabetes risk, effective interventions are lacking – especially for Latina populations, who experience higher than average rates of GDM, overweight and chronic diabetes. In an effort to address this evidence gap, researchers from the University of California, San […]

Can virtual reality tools help teach obstetrics and gynecology topics to medical students?

Results from a trial published in the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics support the benefit of 3D virtual reality lessons to improve medical students’ knowledge and understanding of complex topics in obstetrics and gynecology. For the study, 21 students took part in a 15-minute virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) experience on the stages of fetal development, and 20 students received a […]

Antibiotics after birth affects gut microbes of babies

Treating babies with antibiotics in the first week of life is linked with a decrease in healthy bacteria necessary amongst others to digest milk and an increase in antimicrobial resistance, research suggests. Experts say that clinicians should consider using antibiotics in a way that causes least harm to the newborns microbiome — the community of microbes that live in our […]