A team at the University of Leeds has discovered a way of diagnosing pre-eclampsia, a condition which affects almost one in ten pregnant women and accounts for up to 15% of all premature deliveries.

Moms could reduce the risk of cerebral palsy by eating magnesium sulfate just before they give birth, a new research showed.

Pregnant women have long been warned of the dangers of drinking, smoking and drug use. But now researchers in the United States say caffeine could be just as harmful.

An anti-smoking group has raised concerns about the number of pregnant women who smoke. An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on mothers and babies based on figures collected in 2005 has found that 17.4 per cent of women admitted to smoking while they were pregnant.

New research published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons suggests that pregnant women suspected of having appendicitis are often misdiagnosed and undergo unnecessary appendectomies (removal of the appendix) that can result in early delivery or loss of the fetus. The study points to the need to require more accurate diagnosis to avoid unnecessary operations and the potential for fetal loss.

Humans are hard-wired to form enduring bonds with others. One of the primary bonds across the mammalian species is the mother-infant bond. Evolutionarily speaking, it is in a mother’s best interest to foster the well-being of her child; however, some mothers just seem a bit more maternal than others do.

Researchers studying obese women can gain little or no weight during pregnancy - and even lose a few pounds - without harming their babies.

Health authorities are reporting a massive increase in the number of women being diagnosed with diabetes while pregnant. While the condition is usually temporary, it can significantly increase the risk of getting full-blown diabetes later in life.

When pregnant women are at high risk for preterm birth, giving them a single injection of corticosteroids has been shown to reduce the baby’s chances of having serious lung problems after birth.

Pregnant women exposed to passive smoking are more likely to have sleep disturbances such as subjective insufficient sleep, difficulty in initiating sleep, short sleep duration, and snoring loudly or breathing uncomfortably, according to a study published in the September 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

Pregnant women frequently ask their physician “will you be delivering my baby"” Dr. Haim A. Abenhaim MPH and co-authors wanted to determine whether obstetric outcomes differed between women whose babies were delivered by their own obstetrician and those attended by an on-call obstetrician who did not provide antenatal care.

Risk of a common vaginal infection linked to preterm birth appears to escalate when even one partner is African-American, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study presented today at the 34th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology in Boston.