The Alabama Supreme Court handed down an unprecedented decision in February 2024, holding that stored frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization, known as IVF, were “minor children” under a…
Tag: Pregnancy
I’m a political scientist, and the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling turned me into a reproductive-rights refugee
The day before the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created and used for in vitro fertilization are children, my wife, Gabby, and I were greenlighted by our doctors…
Hundreds of thousands of US infants every year pay the consequences of prenatal exposure to drugs, a growing crisis particularly in rural America
Nearly 1 in 12 newborns in the United States in 2020 – or about 300,000 infants – were exposed to alcohol, opioids, marijuana or cocaine before they were born. Exposure…
Antidepressants Impact Brain Development – Neuroscience News
Summary: Using antidepressants during pregnancy, specifically fluoxetine (found in Prozac and Sarafem), can significantly affect a child’s brain development, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, potentially increasing the risk of mental…
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup, is showing up in pregnant women living near farm fields – that raises health concerns
Living near farmland can significantly increase people’s exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the widely used herbicide Roundup, new research shows. This chemical has been connected to health concerns,…
Innocent Faces of Fentanyl: Opioid Use Linked to Distinct Birth Anomalies
Summary: Researchers have identified a potential new syndrome in babies born to mothers who used fentanyl during pregnancy. The infants displayed distinctive facial features, small heads, short stature, and various…
New treatment for postpartum depression offers hope, but the stigma attached to the condition still lingers
Postpartum depression can affect anyone, and it often sneaks in quietly, like a shadow in the corners of a new mother’s life. It presents significant challenges for around 1 in…
Pregnancy and Body Image Perception
Summary: A novel meta-analysis, encapsulating insights from 5,200 pregnant and 4,172 non-pregnant women, uncovers the multifaceted impacts of pregnancy on body image, revealing nuanced individual variations that range from heightened…
FDA’s greenlighting of maternal RSV vaccine represents a major step forward in protecting young babies against the virus
With the Food and Drug Administration’s Aug. 21, 2023, approval of the first vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, for use during late pregnancy, the U.S. will soon have…
Mental Health and Cannabis Use in Pregnant Women
Summary: A recent study reveals a potential vulnerability of pregnant and postpartum women with mental health disorders towards self-medicating with cannabis. Prior research had been vague, generalizing mental health issues…
