Antibiotics before birth and in early life can affect long-term health

TheConversation: Half of Australian infants have received at least one course of antibiotics by their first birthday. This is one of the highest rates of antibiotic use in the world. Although antibiotics are effective and potentially life-saving for bacterial infections in children, they are often prescribed for viral infections, for which they are ineffective. Unnecessary antibiotics expose individual children to potential side effects, including diarrhoea, vomiting, rashes and allergic reactions. The overuse of antibiotics also increases the risk of bacterial resistance in the wider community. This is when commonly used antibiotics become ineffective against some bacteria, making it difficult, or even impossible, to treat some infections.

Kids at higher risk of autism if mum has diabetes

Scimex: Kids of mums who have any of the three main types of diabetes during pregnancy are at higher risk of developing autism, according to US research. The study showed that type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as gestational, or pregnancy related diabetes, diagnosed before 26 weeks were all linked to an increased risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder. The authors say that, while the study cannot show that diabetes causes autism, it does suggest the severity of the mother's diabetes and the timing of exposure (early vs late in pregnancy) may be linked with the risk of children developing autism.

No evidence that vitamin D protects against high blood pressure in pregnancy

BMJ: There is no strong evidence that vitamin D protects against pregnancy-induced high blood pressure (hypertension) or pre-eclampsia, conclude researchers in The BMJ  today. The findings support current World Health Organization guidance that evidence recommending vitamin D supplements for women during pregnancy to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes is insufficient. However, in many countries, including the UK and the US, pregnant women are advised to take a daily dose of vitamin D.

Pregnancy Drug DES Linked to ADHD in Users’ Grandchildren

Columbia: A study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reports elevated odds for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the grandchildren of users of diethylstilbestrol, a synthetic estrogen commonly known as DES which was prescribed between 1938 and 1971 to prevent pregnancy complications. This is the first study to provide evidence of the potential neurodevelopmental consequences of DES use across generations. The findings are published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

Autism not linked to eating fish during pregnancy – large new study

The Conversation: Eating fish while you’re pregnant does not increase the chance that your child will be autistic or have autistic traits, our latest study shows. In fact, our study suggests that fish may be beneficial for the development of a healthy nervous system. A possible link between mercury exposure and autism has been the subject of much debate over the years. In pregnancy, mercury travels in the mother’s blood through the placenta and into the foetus, where it acts as a toxin, affecting the development of the foetal nervous system.

Prenatal exposure to endocrine disruptors and behavioral problems in children

INSERM: An epidemiological study carried out by Inserm on families from the EDEN cohort (500 boys born between 2003 and 2006 and their mothers) shows that exposure during pregnancy to certain phenols and phthalates is associated with behavioral problems in boys between 3 and 5 years of age. The most worrying compounds in this respect are bisphenol A, triclosan and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The results of this study have recently been published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Researchers developing device to enable pregnant women to detect serious health complications

Purdue: Purdue University researchers are developing an app and wearable technology to enable pregnant women to use a smartphone to detect whether they have or are susceptible to a condition that could lead to serious health complications for them or their unborn child. The team, led by Craig Goergen, an assistant professor in Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, is developing a low-cost automated early detection sensor of preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication caused by high blood pressure that can cause organ damage and premature birth.

Elevated blood pressure before pregnancy may increase chance of pregnancy loss

NIH: Elevated blood pressure before conception may increase the chances for pregnancy loss, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The authors conclude that lifestyle changes to keep blood pressure under control could potentially reduce the risk of loss. The study appears in Hypertension. The analysis found that for every 10 mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure (pressure when the heart is resting between beats), there was an 18-percent-higher risk for pregnancy loss among the study population. Millimeter of mercury, or mmHg, is the unit of measure used for blood pressure. The researchers also found a 17 percent increase in pregnancy loss for every 10 mmHg increase in mean arterial pressure, a measure of the average pressure in the arteries during full heart beat cycles. The study was conducted by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Fetal exposure to moderate/high caffeine levels linked to excess childhood weight gain

BMJ: Exposure to moderate to high caffeine levels while in the womb is linked to excess weight gain in early childhood, suggests a large observational study published in the online journal BMJ Open.

The findings, which back general advice to limit caffeine intake while pregnant, prompt the researchers to query whether mums-to-be should cut out the world’s most widely consumed central nervous system stimulant altogether.

Survival rate may be improving for extremely preterm infants

NIH: Very early preterm infants are more likely to survive than in previous years, and the survivors are less likely to have neurological problems, according to an analysis of records from a National Institutes of Health research network. Researchers found that of the more than 4,000 infants born at 11 sites within the network from 2000 to 2011, survival rates increased from 30 percent to 36 percent. The proportion of survivors who did not have a neurological or developmental impairment increased from 16 percent to 20 percent. The authors theorize that these improvements are a result of advances in the care provided to expectant mothers and their newborns.

Extreme temperatures may increase risk for low birth weight at term, study suggests

NIH: Extreme hot or cold temperatures during pregnancy may increase the risk that infants born at term will be of low birth weight, according to a study of U.S. women by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The study was published in Environmental Research. The authors found that exposure to atypically cold temperature during the entire pregnancy, or just during the second trimester and third trimester, increased the risk for low birth weight. Exposure to atypically hot temperatures during the whole pregnancy, or during the third trimester, also increased this risk. The odds for low term birth weight were highest when the whole pregnancy was exposed to extreme temperatures.

No benefit in treating mildly low thyroid function in pregnancy, study find

NIH: There appears to be no benefit to treating mildly low thyroid function during pregnancy, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health research network. Markedly low thyroid function during pregnancy has long been associated with impaired fetal neurological development and increased risk for preterm birth and miscarriage. Similarly, some studies have indicated that even mildly low thyroid function (subclinical hypothyroidism) could possibly affect a newborn’s cognitive development and increase the chances for pregnancy and birth complications.

Animal Study Suggests Alcohol Use Before Pregnancy May Increase Vulnerability of Offspring to Stress in Adulthood

NIAAA: The effects of alcohol use during pregnancy on an unborn child are well known. However, a recent NIAAA-funded study in rats has shown that a mother’s alcohol use before conception also could have negative effects on her child’s health and response to stress during adulthood. To study the effects of preconception alcohol use, the research team, led by Dipak Sarkar, Ph.D., at Rutgers University, gave female rats 4 weeks of access to a diet containing 6.7 percent alcohol, which raised their blood alcohol levels similar to that of binge drinking in humans.

Monitoring pregnant women at home for detecting preterm labour

Cochrane: Babies who are born too early are more likely to become ill or die. If preterm labour is detected, treatment can start to slow down or stop labour. This also gives time for treatment to improve the baby’s breathing at birth. Increased contractions can be a sign of labour starting early. Many women do not recognise these contractions in time for treatment. Pregnant women at risk of giving birth early could use a monitoring device at home. This would send data to the hospital, and help doctors and midwives to detect and treat preterm labour.

No increased risks to newborns linked to taking influenza drugs during pregnancy

BMJ: A study published by The BMJ today finds no increased risks to newborn babies if their mothers have taken drugs to prevent or treat influenza during pregnancy. This is the largest study to date to assess potential risks of taking antiviral drugs (known as neuraminidase inhibitors) during pregnancy and the results support previous findings. Seasonal influenza occurs every year and millions of pregnant women risk severe illness during seasons with a more aggressive strain.

Aspirin may help increase pregnancy chances in women with high inflammation, study finds

NIH: A daily low dose of aspirin may help a subgroup of women, those who have previously lost a pregnancy, to successfully conceive and carry a pregnancy to term, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The women who benefited from the aspirin treatment had high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a substance in the blood indicating system-wide inflammation, which aspirin is thought to counteract. The study appears in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Fathers can get new baby depression too

Auckland: Depression symptoms among men before and after the birth of their children were identified by recent research from the University of Auckland’s Centre for Longitudinal Research – He Ara Ki Mua.
The study found that expectant fathers were at risk if they felt stressed or were in poor health. Elevated depression symptoms following their child’s birth were linked to social and relationship problems.
The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry investigated depression symptoms in more than 3,500 New Zealand men during the third trimester of their partner’s pregnancy and again nine months after their child’s birth.

Autism Risk Linked to Herpes Infection During Pregnancy

Columbia: Women actively infected with genital herpes during early pregnancy had twice the odds of giving birth to a child later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a study by scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The study is the first to provide immunological evidence on the role of gestational infection in autism, reporting an association between maternal anti-herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) antibodies and risk for ASD in offspring. Results appear in mSphere, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Schizophrenia linked to mother’s low weight during pregnancy

Karolinska Institute: Children born to mothers who gained too little weight during pregnancy were at increased risk for schizophrenia and other non-affective psychoses later in life, according to new epidemiological research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The findings, which are published in the journal  JAMA Psychiatry , confirm the results of several important historical studies that showed a link between exposure to famine while in the womb and increased risk of schizophrenia later in life. 

Scheme’s success at stopping mums-to-be smoking

Newcastle: Pregnant women are almost twice as likely to quit smoking if they are supported from their first midwife appointment – and then are more likely to have heavier, healthier babies. Newcastle University researchers evaluated the “BabyClear” programme which follows the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance around smoking in pregnancy by screening all pregnant women for smoking using carbon monoxide monitoring.