Continuous glucose monitoring as part of antenatal care for women with diabetes improves maternal blood glucose control and lowers birth weight and risk of macrosomia* (excessive birth weight in babies), according to a study published on bmj.com today.

That's the question posed by leading bioethicists at Duke University Medical Center, Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities, who say it's time to confront the challenges that have led to the exclusion of pregnant women from important research that could positively impact maternal and fetal health.

A study published today in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases reveals that between a quarter and a third of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, or almost 7 million, are infected with hookworms and at increased risk of developing anaemia.

Clinical trials hoping to identify a vaginal microbicide that is both safe and effective against HIV have all but skirted questions befitting the evaluation of an approach intended primarily for sexually active women of childbearing age: What if a woman becomes pregnant while using a product? Can exposure to a product, especially early in pregnancy, pose a risk to the developing fetus?

Pregnant women can safely undergo essential dental treatment and receive topical and local anesthetics at 13 to 21 weeks gestation, says a study published in the June issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association.

Stretching exercises may be more effective at reducing the risk of preeclampsia than walking is for pregnant women who have already experienced the condition and who do not follow a workout routine, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing.

Pregnant women may still face judgment and obstacles to getting jobs, shows two recent studies by George Mason University and Rice University professors.

Pregnant breast cancer patients can be treated as closely as possible to existing guidelines for non-pregnant patients, with few ill effects, a scientist told the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6) today (Wednesday 16 April).

A new test for identifying a mismatch between the blood of a pregnant woman and her baby is accurate, feasible, and could substantially reduce unnecessary treatment, finds a Bristol study published on bmj.com today.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States makes obesity a leading public health problem. The United States has the highest rates of obesity in the developed world. Obesity is a public health and policy problem because of its prevalence, costs and burdens. It influences all sides of people’s lives. This time researchers focused their attention on obese pregnant women.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released information that obese women require more medical care than their lighter contemporaries.

Research published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association identifies for the first time a naturally occurring ‘cannabis’ as a signal