Obese pregnant women can safely diet: study

2011-12-07T10:30:17Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese pregnant women can safely limit their weight gain by watching what they eat, an analysis of several clinical trials suggests.

The study, reported in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, adds to evidence that obese women can try to limit their weight gain during pregnancy without harming themselves or their baby.

General recommendations from the

Women's post-natal depression linked to partners' abuse: study

2011-12-07T01:30:43Z

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Forty percent of women who suffer depression after childbirth are abused either physically or emotionally by their partners, researchers in Australia said on Wednesday, calling on health workers to be more alert to such cases.

"That is a very important message to get out to health professionals," said ...

FDA takes aim at "unproven" HCG weight-loss brands

2011-12-06T11:30:24Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Regulators have taken first steps to remove from the market over-the-counter products containing HCG hormone, saying the homeopathic formulations fraudulently claim to produce weight loss and may pose serious health risks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the

Woman gives birth at airport restroom

2011-11-29T07:30:15Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman gave birth in a restroom at Baltimore's airport after arriving on a flight, an airport spokesman said on Monday.

The woman gave birth to a boy on Sunday afternoon at Concourse D of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshal...

Woman gives birth at Baltimore airport restroom

2011-11-28T09:30:15Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman gave birth in a restroom at Baltimore's airport after arriving on a flight, an airport spokesman said on Monday.

The woman gave birth to a boy on Sunday afternoon at Concourse D of Baltimore/Wash...

Rebekah Brooks expecting baby by surrogate

2011-11-17T13:30:41Z

Former News International boss Rebekah Brooks, a key figure in the phone hacking row, is expecting a baby girl in February via a surrogate mother, her spokesman said on Thursday.

The flame-haired Brooks, 43, and her husband, racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, were originally expecting twins with the surrogate but one of the babies died, sources close to Brooks added.

"Charlie and Rebekah Brooks are deligh...

When does pregnancy begin? Doctors disagree

2011-11-17T11:30:40Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though most doctors will give you a definition of when pregnancy begins, it's not always the same one, according to a new survey.

Most of the polled obstetrician-gynecologists believe pregnancy begins when the sperm fertilizes the egg. But a minority say it doesn't begin until a week later when the fertilized egg implants in the uterus -- the definition given by t...

Mariah Carey hid pregnant body from hubby Cannon

2011-11-11T06:02:13Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mariah Carey put on so much weight when she was pregnant with twins that she says she used to hide her body from husband Nick Cannon.

But the Grammy-winning...

Big belly before pregnancy may mean extra-big baby

2011-11-11T06:01:57Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who have large waistlines before pregnancy may be more likely to have a larger-than-normal newborn than women who are trim around the middle, a new study suggests.

The findings, reported in the obstetrics journal BJOG, are in line with what experts know: Women who are obese before pregnancy are more likely to have a baby with an abnormally high birthweight -...

20th child due for "19 Kids and Counting" reality TV couple

2011-11-08T14:30:41Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "19 Kids and Counting" stars Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are expecting the birth of their 20th child, the couple said on Tuesday as they predicted a need to yet again change the...

Embryo vote to refuel US abortion row

2011-11-08T08:30:32Z

Mississippi residents vote on a constitutional amendment Tuesday stating that a fertilized human egg is a person, a controversial move likely to thrust the hot-button issue of abortion into the spotlight ahead of the 2012 elections.

The so-called "personhood amendment," which would confer rights on an embryo from the moment of conception, is similar to a measure that already has been rejected twice by voters in Colorado.

But it may have found fertile ground in co...

Performance artist gives birth in NY gallery

2011-11-07T10:00:55Z

There's something new to see at the Microscope Gallery in Brooklyn: a newborn baby called Ajax whose mother made her pregnancy the subject of her latest exhibition.

Performance artist Marni Kotak literally took up residence in the gallery last month, recreating a small apartment -- complete with birthing pool -- in anticipation of the arrival of her child, which came Tuesday.

"It?s a ...

China hospital disposes of live baby

2011-11-07T09:31:50Z

Health authorities in south China said Friday they were investigating a hospital medical team for mistakenly diagnosing a stillbirth and disposing of a baby that was alive.

The probe is taking place at the Nanhai Red Cross Hospital in the

Study questions twin-pregnancy weight-gain limits

2011-11-01T09:30:16Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a small new study, women pregnant with twins who gained more weight than current guidelines suggest were not at higher risk of serious pregnancy complications and they gave birth to bigger babies -- a welcome result since twins are more likely than singletons to have low birth weights.

Over a five-year period, 170 patients in a

Two abortion clinic employees plead guilty to murder

2011-10-27T15:00:28Z

Story contains graphic descriptions in paragraphs five through eight.

By Dave Warner

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Two employees of a Philadelphia abortion clinic where live, viable babies were allegedly killed and a patient died after being given on overdose of painkillers pleaded guilty on Thursday to murder.

Guilt...

Murder, suicide top medical deaths in pregnancy

2011-10-26T14:00:25Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Expectant mothers are more likely to die from murder or suicide than several of the most common pregnancy-related medical problems, U.S. researchers have found.

Roughly half of those women who died violently had had some sort of conflict with their current or former partners leading up to the death, causing experts to call for more thorough screening ...

Depression risk no higher for older first-time mums

2011-10-25T19:00:11Z

(Reuters) - Women who have their first baby at an older age aren't at any greater risk of postpartum depression than their younger counterparts, according to an Australian study of more than 500 first-time mothers.

Researchers led by Catherine McMahon at Macquarie Un...

Older first-time moms not at higher depression risk

2011-10-25T10:30:18Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who have their first baby at an older age aren't at greater risk of postpartum depression, according to a new report that contradicts earlier concerns.

In a study of more than 500 first-time mothers, Australian researchers found that moms age 37 or older were no more likely to get postpartum depression than their younger counterparts -- whether they conceive...

Using one embryo in IVF doesn't cut birth rate: study

2011-10-23T19:00:08Z

(Reuters) - Transferring one embryo into women during in vitro fertilization (IVF) doesn't lower their chances of giving birth but it does mean fewer women give birth to twins, with all the attendant health risks, a study said.

IVF has traditionally involved transferring multiple embryos, which is known to increase by many times a woman's chances of having twins and other multiple births, and raise risks...

Hong Kong mothers march against mainland babies

2011-10-23T12:30:32Z

More than 1000 protesters, including pregnant women, marched in Hong Kong Sunday opposing the growing number of mainland Chinese women coming to the city to give birth, organisers said.

Women from mainland China are keen to have babies in Hong Kong -- a city that has had semi-autonomous status within China since it ceased to be a British colony in 1997 -- because it entitles the...

Using one embryo in IVF doesn't cut birth rate

2011-10-21T14:30:31Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study from an Iowa fertility center found that implanting women with one embryo during in vitro fertilization (IVF) didn't lower their chances of having a baby, but it did mean fewer women gave birth to twins.

IVF has traditionally involved implanting multiple embryos, which is known to increase by many times a woman's chances of having twins. P...

Bruni gives birth to baby girl: report

2011-10-19T17:30:18Z

PARIS (Reuters) - French first lady Carla Bruni gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday, French media reported, her first child with husband President Nicolas Sarkozy and the first baby born to a French presidential couple in office.

Exercise may not limit pregnancy weight gain

2011-10-19T13:30:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exercising during pregnancy was safe for both moms and babies in a new study of heavy women in Brazil, but fitness classes and at-home exercises didn't keep moms-to-be from gaining too much weight.

The finding is "not surprising," according to Dr. Patrick Catalano, a maternal-fetal medicine rese...

Infants should sleep on their backs, Pediatric group says

2011-10-19T08:31:06Z

BOSTON (Reuters) - Putting babies to sleep on their backs on a firm crib mattress in the same room as the parents is among an list of safe sleep guidelines for infants released on Tuesday.

The American Academy of Pediatrics first said in 1992 that infants should be placed in a non-prone p...

More trans fat during pregnancy tied to bigger baby

2011-10-12T10:30:38Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pregnant women who down trans fats from snack foods, fast food and other less-than-ideal fare may give birth to bigger babies, a new study suggests.

The study, of nearly 1,400 pregnant women, found that the higher a woman's intake of trans fats during the second trimester, the larger her newborn.

Exactly what the findings mean is uncertain. For one, they don...

France counts down the days for Bruni-Sarkozy baby

2011-10-11T06:00:18Z

PARIS (Reuters) - France's first lady Carla Bruni is expected to give birth in the coming days, keeping French media on tenterhooks before an event that could offer President Nicolas Sarkozy a welcome respite from ...

Wisconsin woman charged with murder for cutting fetus

2011-10-10T20:00:55Z

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Wisconsin police charged a 33-year-old Milwaukee woman with murder on Monday over accusations she cut a full-term fetus from its mother's womb in an attempt to steal the baby and claim it as her own.

Annette Morales-Rodriguez faces two counts of first-degree ...

'DES daughters' prone to cancer, fertility woes

2011-10-05T18:30:15Z

Women whose mothers took a synthetic estrogen called DES before it was discontinued in 1971 have been found to suffer from a variety of fertility problems and cancers, according to a major new study.

The study appearing in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine examines the daughters of females exposed in the ...

Jenna Fischer gives birth to baby boy

2011-10-03T12:30:50Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Office" actress Jenna Fischer gave birth to a baby boy on September 24, her spokeswoman said on Monday.

Fischer, 37, who is married to screenwriter Lee Kirk, welcomed son Weston Le...

Colds and stomach bugs not tied to cerebral palsy

2011-09-29T13:30:19Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite concerns that a mother's infections during pregnancy may raise her baby's risk of cerebral palsy, common colds and stomach flu were not tied to the birth defect in a new study.

Other more serious infections, and factors like a woman's history of miscarriage or family history of cerebral palsy, were associated with increased risk to babies, Dr. Michae...

Chemotherapy appears safe in pregnancy: study

2011-09-27T09:00:17Z

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Treating pregnant cancer patients with powerful chemotherapy drugs appears not to harm their unborn children, but pre-term delivery to avoid subjecting them to chemotherapy does, according to a study by cancer experts on Tuesday.

Scientists who studied the health and mental development of children born to mothers treated...

Chemotherapy appears safe in pregnancy, study finds

2011-09-26T15:30:17Z

Scientists who studied the health and mental development of children born to mothers treated...

"Twilight" trailer reveals vampire baby on the way

2011-09-14T15:30:16Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - So much for chastity in the world of the "Twilight" vampires.

The movie trailer for "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn

Common painkillers tied to miscarriage risk

2011-09-06T09:30:24Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who use common painkillers like ibuprofen and naproxen early in pregnancy may have an increased risk of miscarriage, a study published Tuesday suggests.

Researchers found that of nearly 52,000 Quebec women who had been pregnant, those who'd used a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) after conc...

S.Leone free health care plan dysfunctional: Amnesty

2011-09-05T20:30:18Z

Sierra Leone's free health care plan for pregnant women and young children is dysfunctional and hobbled by corruption and a lack of accountability, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

"The health care system remains dysfunctional in many respects," Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International's Af...

Steriliser blamed for mysterious S. Korean deaths

2011-09-01T05:30:21Z

A sterilising agent for home humidifiers probably caused the mysterious deaths of four pregnant women, an official with a South Korean health agency said Thursday.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) began investigating after 28 cases of lung disease with unknown causes were reported since 2004, many of them this year and involving...

Which is worse in pregnancy, snuff or cigarettes?

2011-08-31T00:00:06Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Babies born to snuff-using mothers were more likely to have breathing problems than those whose mothers smoked while pregnant, according to a Swedish study.

Snuff -- ground tobacco that is high in nicotine but doesn't generate the same additional chemicals as cigarette smoke because it's not burned -- is generally assumed to be safer than cigarettes, said lead researcher...

Mom in California baby-dropping case on suicide watch

2011-08-25T16:00:16Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The arraignment for a California mom accused of pushing her 7-month-old baby to his death from a parking structure was postponed on Thursday after a doctor found her mentally unfit to go to court.

A doctor who examined Sonia Hermosillo, 31, in the hos...

Unplanned pregnancies rising among poor U.S. women: study

2011-08-23T21:30:04Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Unintended pregnancies, which make up nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States, are increasingly concentrated among low-income women, a study showed on Wednesday.

Unplanned pregnancies have skyrocketed among poor women in recent years even as suc...

Tina Fey gives birth to second child

2011-08-14T12:01:35Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "30 Rock" creator and star Tina Fey gave birth to a girl on Wednesday, People magazine has reported.

Maternal deaths in childbirth 'worrying'

2011-08-10T10:30:29Z

Women are dying needlessly in childbirth from treatable medical conditions because of "substandard care" in hospitals, a group of doctors said Wednesday.

The article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) by six obstetricians pointed to a "worrying trend" in the causes of maternal deaths and said more specialist doctors were needed to spot warning sig...

DNA blood tests can tell baby's sex at 7 weeks: study

2011-08-09T17:31:49Z

Tests that measure DNA in a pregnant woman's blood work well for telling the sex of a baby after seven weeks' gestation without posing danger to the fetus, a US study said Tuesday.

The meta-analysis of previous studies on the topic suggests that using cell-free fetal DNA from the mother's blood is more accurate than a urine test or sonogram and is safer than amniocentesis.

It can also be done earlier than an ultrasound...

Mother's blood test reveals baby's sex

2011-08-09T13:30:33Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Blood drawn from expectant mothers could offer parents an earlier sneak peek at their baby's sex than methods currently used in the U.S., researchers said Tuesday.

The test may be particularly valuable for families that harbor sex-linked genetic disorders like hemophilia, they add.

Because such disorders only strike boys, knowing that the baby i...

Teenage brides suffer pain and shame of fistula

2011-08-04T03:00:05Z

NAIROBI (TrustLaw) - "Nobody wants a woman who passes stools all the time and smells," whispered Farhiya Mohamed Farah, explaining why her husband divorced her when she was pregnant with their second child.

Farah, developed a hole between her vagina and rectum, causing feces to leak from her body, after giving birth to her first child at age 18 while fleeing gunfire in CHICAGO (Reuters) - Critics say a controversial new study that linked high exposure to electromagnetic fields during pregnancy to asthma in children is flawed and ignores many prior studies that suggest such exposures are harmless.

The study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente

US policy group urges free contraception for women

2011-07-19T19:30:28Z

Birth control pills should be provided to women free of charge under US health insurance plans, a non-governmental health policy advisory group urged on Tuesday.

Contraceptives and counseling to prevent unintended pregnancies, DNA tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) and lactation services for new mothers were among eight health services that the Institute of Medicine said should be covered in or...

Health body backs free birth control for women

2011-07-19T15:30:11Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. medical advisory group recommended providing women free birth control and other preventive health services under the nation's healthcare overhaul.

The Institute of Medicine report, commissioned by the Reuters) - Pregnant women who are exposed to coal smoke and pesticides are up to four times more likely to have babies with serious birth defects than women not exposed to these chemicals, a Chinese study has found.

The researchers studied 80 newborn babies and aborted fetuses with brain and spinal cord defects and found that their mothers' placentas had significantly higher amoun...

France's Bruni confirms pregnant, won't reveal gender

2011-07-15T11:30:08Z

PARIS (Reuters) - France's first lady Carla Bruni spoke openly about her pregnancy for the first time in a newspaper interview published on Friday -- but kept the baby's gender a secret.

Rumors have swirled for months, starting with a story in gossip magazine Closer in April and fol...

New York law would limit anti-abortion group: judge

2011-07-13T17:00:41Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City law forcing non-medical pregnancy centers to disclose what kind of services they offer was frozen on Wednesday by a U.S. judge, who said the law would violate anti-abortion centers free speech rights.

The law, which would have gone into effect on July 14, would have required so-called ...

Texas-sized newborn weighs in at over 16 pounds

2011-07-11T14:30:20Z

AUSTIN (Reuters) - Texans love to brag about how everything is bigger in the Lone Star State. Now they have proof, with the birth of a baby boy who weighed a whopping 16 pounds and one ounce.

JaMichael Brown's weight was more than double the national average for a newborn and he measures 24 inches long, just a few inches shy of an average one-year-old.

JaMichael holds the title of the ...

Australian Olympian Cathy Freeman has first child

2011-07-08T13:30:46Z

Australian sprint legend Cathy Freeman on Friday gave birth to her first child, a girl, according to a statement on her website that said the proud mother was doing well.

The girl, Ruby Anne Susie Murch, was born at 8:21am in Melbourne.

"The proud parents are looking forward to returning home and enjoying the exciting first stages of parentho...

SUN reader Sounds off

2011-07-07T02:30:18Z

On "Las Vegas has a blast during Fourth of July celebrations" from boftx: "The money spent on taking pride in our history and honoring those who gave birth to our nation is a minuscule amount if it reminds us what we stand for and what so many of us want to, and will, achieve. We may not be at the top of our game now, but no nation has achieved as much as we have the past 235 ye...

Ovulating? Urine test more precise than calendar: study

2011-07-05T14:30:28Z

Women trying to conceive are better served by a urine test to determine if they are ovulating than the more commonly used calendar method, the makers of the test said at a Stockholm conference Tuesday.

"The calendar method is good to help women to start to understand how their cycle works, but if women are really trying to conceive ... it's not really the best method to use," said Jayne Ellis, head of scientific and med...

Higher chance of twins after IVF for taller women: study

2011-07-04T17:30:23Z

Taller women who become pregnant after receiving two embryos through in-vitro fertilisation have more chance of giving birth to twins, a Dutch study presented Monday found.

According to Marieke Lambers of the VUMC, Gynaecology Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine in Amsterdam and her team, it is the first time that a link has been found between the height of the mother and the probability of multiple births...

Swedish model slashes multiple-birth risk in IVF pregnancies

2011-07-04T14:30:38Z

Swedish doctors on Monday presented a new method they said dramatically reduces the risk of multiple births from in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) without affecting chances of having a baby.

The technique will help doctors determine the chances of giving birth to a healthy baby through IVF, they said.

At present, fertility clinics tend to transfer several embryos to the uterus to boost the chance of a live birth, but this often leads to multiple pregnancies that carry a higher ris...

Moms' diet not tied to kids' heart health: study

2011-07-04T07:30:11Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study from West Africa suggests that supplementing pregnant women's diets with extra calories and protein doesn't protect their kids against risk factors for heart disease once they're teenagers.

But researchers unconnected to the new work suggest that it might take more time for those extra ...

Finger length may have link to penis length: study

2011-07-04T03:30:05Z

HONG KONG (Reuters Life!) - Hands may say more about their owners than commonly thought, especially in the case of men.

Men whose index fingers are shorter than their ring fingers may have longer penises, according to a South Korean study published in the Asian Journal of Andrology.

"According to our data ... the shorter index (second) finger than ring (fourth) finger you have, the lon...

Hong Kong slashes quota for mainland babies

2011-06-24T14:30:31Z

Hong Kong on Friday announced a sharply reduced quota for mainland Chinese women allowed to give birth in its public hospitals, as it struggles to cope with the tens of thousands arriving yearly.

"There is a surge of demand for Hong Kong's obstetric services by non-local residents, in particular mainland women, in recent years," the city's health chief York Chow said in ...

Smoking moms lower 'good' cholesterol in kids: study

2011-06-21T19:30:34Z

Women who smoke during pregnancy may lower the level of 'good' cholesterol in their children, with some negative impacts showing up later in life, according to a study released Tuesday.

HDL -- or high-density lipoprotein -- cholesterol helps protect against heart disease as one gets older.

The research, published in the European Heart Journal, showed that by age eight children born to mothers who smoked while pregnant had HDL cholesterol levels about 10 percent below normal, ...

Smoking in pregnancy cuts child's good cholesterol

2011-06-21T15:30:20Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Mothers who smoke while pregnant are causing changes to their unborn babies that can lead them to have less of a type of cholesterol known to protect against heart disease, scientists said on Tuesday.

In a study in the European Heart Journal, Australian researchers found that by the age of eight, children born to mothers who smoked in pregnancy had lower levels of HDL chol...

Sleep position may affect stillbirth risk

2011-06-14T16:30:09Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Women who do not sleep on their left side on their last night of pregnancy have double the risk of late stillbirth compared with women who do sleep on their left side, according to a study from New Zealand.

The researchers who conducted the study said women should not worry because the increased risk is sti...

Baby girl born on Malabo-Madrid flight

2011-06-03T13:30:28Z

An airline passenger gave birth to a baby girl Friday while flying to Madrid from central Africa, helped by a midwife, paediatrician and doctor who were all aboard, Iberia said.

The three-kilogram (6.6-pound) baby was born healthy after a quick delivery during an Iberia Thailand said they suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the gang, a newspaper reported Thursday.

The 15 women were discovered in two houses in a suburb of Bangkok during a police raid in February. Thai authorities said seven were pregnant at the time, while two had newborn babies.

Some ...

France's Carla Bruni shows off bump at G8 summit

2011-05-26T18:30:10Z

DEAUVILLE, France (Reuters) - French first lady Carla Bruni showed off a rounded belly on Thursday that left little room for doubt that reports she is pregnant are true.

Posing for photographs with the wives of other leaders on the sidelines of a ...

Charity pulls smart stunt on Bruni pregnancy rumour

2011-05-25T15:30:25Z

DEAUVILLE, France (Reuters) - In a smart publicity stunt, a leading charity has traded on rumors about Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's possible pregnancy to try and save lives of babies in the developing world.

Ahead of the G8 summ...

More U.S. women using medications during pregnancy

2011-05-25T13:30:14Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most pregnant women in the U.S. use at least one prescription or over-the-counter medication -- even though the safety of those drugs during pregnancy is not always clear, a new study finds.

Looking at data from two long-running studies, researchers found that by 2008, more than 80 percent of pregnant women...

UN chief visits Nigeria in wake of landmark vote

2011-05-22T16:30:12Z

UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Nigeria on Sunday for a two-day visit weeks after Africa's most populous nation held elections viewed as the fairest in nearly two decades despite deadly rioting.

Ban arrived in Nigeria, his first trip here since taking office in 2007, from

More patients with free health care in S.Leone

2011-05-20T01:30:13Z

Dozens of women, some with babies strapped tightly to their backs, wait patiently in a crowded, sweaty attendance ward at Sierra Leone's main maternity hospital for their turn to be treated, for free.

Piercing cries fill the wards as exhausted, overworked nurses administer injections to squirming toddlers in the hospital, overwhelmed since a free health care system for women and young children was launched just over a year ago...

Unintended pregnancies cost public $11 billion a year: studies

2011-05-18T23:00:04Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Studies released by a reproductive rights research group on Thursday show that unintended pregnancies cost U.S. taxpayers about $11 billion a year.

Two studies by the New York-based Guttmacher Institute looked at the ...

Infant deaths fall, life expectancy rises: WHO

2011-05-13T11:00:15Z

GENEVA (Reuters) - Infant deaths fell across the world during the first decade of the century, dropping twice as fast as they did in the 1990s, partly thanks to higher spending, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

The health body said there had been an equally impressive rate of decline i...

Couple sentenced for forcing teenager into prostitution

2011-05-12T19:00:20Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A couple accused of forcing a teenage mother into prostitution and beating her infant son to death were sentenced Thursday in Brooklyn federal court to a total of more than 35 years in prison.

Domingo Salazar received 30 years, while his wife, Norma Mendez

"Something Borrowed" star Kate Hudson loves being pregnant

2011-05-05T11:00:20Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kate Hudson stars in the romantic comedy "Something Borrowed," due out in U.S. movie theaters on Friday.

Based on author Emily Giffin's best-selling novel of the same name, the fil...

French First Lady fuels pregnancy rumors

2011-05-02T12:00:45Z

PARIS (Reuters) - French First Lady Carla Bruni has fanned rumors she is pregnant, clutching a shawl to her belly during a newspaper interview and fending off inquiries with the words "my lips are sealed to protect something..."

Asked by a Le Parisien reporter...

"Mad Men" actress pregnant, father not revealed

2011-04-28T18:00:08Z

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress January Jones, who plays sullen housewife Betty Draper on the Emmy-award winning television drama "Mad Men," is about to become a single mother, ST. PETERSBURG, Fla (Reuters) - New Yorker Melissa Garden learned she was pregnant with her first child last year just as her communication director job at New Meadowlands Stadium hit full throttle.

When exactly, she wondered, wou...

Studies link low IQ to prenatal pesticide exposure

2011-04-21T01:30:19Z

High levels of pesticide exposure in pregnant women have been linked to lower IQs in their children, according to three separate US studies.

Two studies were done in New York City and a third was in Salinas, a farming area of northern California. All spanned ne...

Prenatal pesticide exposure linked with lower IQ

2011-04-20T22:00:11Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Babies exposed to pesticides before birth may have significantly lower intelligence scores by age 7 than children who were not exposed, three separate studies published on Thursday said.

Results from the studies -- two in New York and one in an agricultural community in Reuters Health) - Four decades after doctors realized that a drug called DES - used to prevent pregnancy complications - had devastating consequences for babies, a new study finds those effects may be reverberating into the third generation.

French researchers report that the grandsons of women who took diethylstilbestrol (DES) are more likely than other men to have deformations in...

Pregnant mothers' diet linked to child obesity: study

2011-04-19T04:30:18Z

An expectant mother's diet during pregnancy can alter her baby's DNA in the womb, increasing its risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes in later life, an international study has found.

Researchers said the study provided the first scientific evidence linking pregnant women's diet to childhood obesity, with major implications for public health.

"This a a major breakthrough because for the first time it gives us the potential to work out the optimal diet a mother should ea...

First baby over age 45? Expect complications: study

2011-04-14T11:30:20Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study of older new mothers in Israel finds that 8 in 10 experienced health problems during their pregnancies, and nearly half of their babies were smaller than average.

First-time births over age 45 have more than tripled over the last decade in Israel. Though they still represent a small fraction of all b...

Hong Kong restricts mainland babies

2011-04-08T15:30:38Z

Hong Kong said Friday its public hospitals would not accept women arriving from China to give birth in the territory which has been struggling to cope with the tens of thousands who land each year.

The number of mainland women who opt to deliver across the border in the glitzy financial hub has been growing and reportedly accounted for nearly half of Hong Kong's 88,000 births in 2010.

...

South Africa worries over rising teen pregnancy

2011-04-07T13:30:25Z

A puffy-faced teenage girl strikes a lonely figure as she walks home from school, her short uniform skirt loosened on the side to make room for her growing baby bump.

Sixteen-year-old Thandi is four months pregnant and among a jump in teenage pregnancies that are up 21 percent across South Africa in recent years, also raising fears of increased HIV infections among sexually active youth.

Most schools allow pregnant pupil...

Hong Kong moves to restrict mainland babies

2011-04-07T06:30:28Z

Hong Kong says it will restrict the number of mainland Chinese women allowed to give birth in the city's hospitals which are struggling to cope with the tens of thousands who arrive each year.

The number of mainland women who opt to deliver across the border in the glitzy financial hub has been growing and reportedly accounted nearly half of Hong Kong's 88,000 births in 2010.

Hong Kong's government has come under pressure in r...

Teen pregnancy rate at record low: CDC

2011-04-05T15:00:10Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The teen pregnancy rate in 2009, the latest year for which data are available, hit its lowest since tracking began 70 years ago, the Center for Disease Control said on Tuesday.

However, more than 400,000 teen girls still give birth a year according to the...

U.S. teen pregnancy rate at record low: CDC

2011-04-05T11:30:29Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. teen pregnancy rate in 2009, the latest year for which data are available, hit its lowest since tracking began 70 years ago, the Center for Disease Control said on Tuesday.

However, more than 400,000 teen girls still give birth a year according t...

'Phenomenal mommy' Cruz gets Hollywood star

2011-04-01T21:30:07Z

Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz paid tribute to family and supporters Friday -- including her newborn baby son -- as she was given a star on Hollywood's storied Walk of Fame.

In return, Johny Depp described Cruz, who stars in the latest installment of the LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Vera Farmiga first caught Hollywood's eye in low-budget film "Down to the Bone," then vaulted to fame when she was nominated for a best actress Oscar in 2010, playing a traveling businesswoman in "

Births On Planes

2010-10-27T15:10:11Z

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2010 file photo, nurses attend to a newborn baby found inside the lavatory of an airplane at Manila's international airport, Philippines. Ground crew cleaning the just-landed Gulf Air plane from Bahrain found the baby inside one of the airplane's lavatories. ...

Romania Hospital Explosion

2010-08-17T04:30:32Z

Paramedics evacuate a new born baby following an explosion in the intensive care section of a hospital in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Aug. 16, 2010. Officials say an explosion at a maternity hospital in Romania's capital has killed three babies, while two pregnant women and eight newborn infants sustained burns and other injuries. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

APTOPIX Romania Hospital Explosion

2010-08-17T04:16:00Z

A baby is held as evacuated patients, pregnant women and relatives stand in the street following an explosion in the intensive care section of a hospital in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Aug. 16, 2010. Officials say an explosion at a maternity hospital in Romania's capital has killed three babies, while two pregnant women and eight newborn infants sustained burns and other injuries. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghir...

Mexico Women's Rights

2010-05-06T14:31:38Z

Workers of the Quintana Roo state representation in Mexico City look through a gate during a demonstration organized by women's rights activists in Mexico City, Thursday, May 6, 2010. Women's rights activists are asking tourists to boycott the resort of Cancun because they say local authorities fail to protect the rights of women and girls agai...

TV Bristol Palin American Teenager

2010-06-25T20:33:13Z

FILE - In this May 6, 2009 file photo, Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, arrives at an event to promote National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day in New York. Unwed mother Bristol Palin said Wednesday that abstinence is a realistic way for teens to avoid unwanted pregnancy ? a view not shared by the father of her inf...

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