July 9, 2020

Exercise Might Make Breast Milk's Goodness Even Better

TUESDAY, June 30, 2020 -- Exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle, but a new study suggests it also increases the amount of a beneficial compound called 3SL in the breast milk of both humans and mice.

Based on that, researchers think that its benefits to babies could last for decades, potentially making them less likely to experience such chronic illnesses as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease as they age.

June 19, 2020

Climate Change, Smog Could Mean More Preemie Babies: Study

THURSDAY, June 18, 2020 -- Here's more bad news associated with climate change: Pregnant women exposed to air pollution or heat waves face a greater risk of having a preterm or underweight baby, a new research review finds.

The review, of 68 studies from across the United States, found that the large majority arrived at the same conclusion: Babies were at greater risk when their mothers lived in areas with poorer air quality or more oppressive heat.

June 15, 2020

Placenta's Hidden Mysteries Revealed in MRI Study

FRIDAY, May 29, 2020 -- MRI imaging has uncovered key differences in blood flow to the placenta in pregnant women who are healthy and those with preeclampsia.

That could help explain why babies born to mothers with preeclampsia -- dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy -- are often smaller and premature, according to researchers at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.