Topic description and stories

Early childhood mortality rates in 1851 (left) and 1911 (right). The highest rates are in red and the lowest in blue.

Online atlas explores north-south divide in childbirth and child mortality during Victorian era

15 May 2018

A new interactive online atlas, which illustrates when, where and possibly how fertility rates began to fall in England and Wales during the...

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Placenta plays pivotal “umpire” role to influence pregnancy outcomes

12 Sep 2016

New research provides the first clear evidence that the amount of nutrients transported to the foetus by the placenta adjusts according to both the...

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Sin Zancudos no hay Zika - Cúcuta

Zika warnings lead to ‘significant’ increase in demand for abortions in Latin America

22 Jun 2016

Health warnings about complications related to Zika virus significantly increased demand for abortions in Latin American countries, according to a...

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Maternal obesity and diabetes in pregnancy result in early overgrowth of the baby in the womb

08 Apr 2016

The babies of obese women who develop gestational diabetes are five times as likely to be excessively large by six months of pregnancy, according to...

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11C metomidate PET CT of small Conn's tumour

New research leaves tumours with nowhere to hide

24 Sep 2015

Hidden tumours that cause potentially fatal high blood pressure but lurk undetected in the body until pregnancy have been discovered by a Cambridge...

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Yin & Yang

New NICE thresholds could miss up to 4,000 women per year at risk from diabetes in pregnancy

12 Jun 2015

The new threshold for diabetes in pregnancy recently introduced by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) misses a...

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Smoking girl

Shopping vouchers could help one in five pregnant women quit smoking

26 Feb 2015

Financial incentives could help one in five women quit smoking during pregnancy, according to new research published today in the journal Addiction...

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Section of normal testes of a young man

Study finds increased DNA mutations in children of teenage fathers

18 Feb 2015

New research reveals that the sperm cells of adolescent boys have more than six times the rate of DNA mutations as the equivalent egg cells in...

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Pregnant mother

Mother’s stress hormone levels may affect foetal growth and long term health of child

26 Jan 2015

Increased levels of stress hormones can lead pregnant mice to overeat, but affect growth of the foetus and, potentially, the long term health of the...

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Measure for measure

Getting the true measure of pregnancy

12 Jun 2014

One in 200 babies dies before birth in the UK. A study aimed at determining how to reduce the risk of a pregnancy coming to a devastating end is now...

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Illustration of sperm

Male infertility is ‘culturally invisible’, finds research

01 May 2014

Research for a new book reveals a culturally sanctioned suppression of dialogue around male infertility – despite it being equally as common as...

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Mouse embryos half-way through gestation (embryonic day 10.5). From left to right: normal size, growth restricted and growth enhanced.

Folic acid deficiency can affect the health of great, great grandchildren

26 Sep 2013

Deficiencies associated with spina bifida, heart defects and placental abnormalities.

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