Prescribing change, expecting more
The influenza vaccine is safe to receive at any stage during pregnancy, the results of a large Australian study have determined. The study, published in the journal Vaccine, found that birth outcomes, specifically birth weight and weeks' gestation of the infant at birth, are not affected by the influenza vaccine during any trimester of pregnancy. Researchers at the Australian National…
Read more > Flu vaccine ‘safe in any trimester of pregnancy’
Treating women with mildly low thyroid function during pregnancy may be of no benefit, according to a new US study. Although markedly low thyroid function during pregnancy is known to be associated with impaired fetal neurological development and increased risk for preterm birth and miscarriage, research that suggested even mildly low thyroid function (subclinical hypothyroidism) could possibly affect a newborn’s…
Read more > "No benefit” to treating mild low thyroid in pregnancy
There are unacceptably high global prevalence rates of alcohol use in pregnancy and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), with rates highest in Europe, a new study has concluded. The research, published in The Lancet Global Health, provides the first-ever estimates of the proportion of women who drink during pregnancy. The study found that on average, almost 10 per cent of women…
The importance of folic acid supplementation in preventing the rate of birth defects has once again been emphasised by experts, who say all women of childbearing age should take the mineral supplement daily. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently updated its 2009 recommendation on folic acid supplementation in women of childbearing age. According to the task force, neural…
Pregnant women are at high risk of being prescribed opioid medication inappropriately, a new analysis has found. The new American study found that nearly 10 percent of women on Medicaid, the US health insurance plan, who had live births received a prescription for opioids. The study by New York researchers focused on women of reproductive age from 2008 to 2013…
Read more > Opioids in pregnancy ‘need best practice prescribing’
Newer epilepsy medications may not have a negative impact on a baby’s cognitive development if taken during pregnancy, new research has determined. Risks associated with an older medication, valproate, were also confirmed during the latest study, however, the results of which were published online this month in the respected journal Neurology. The Epilepsy Research UK-funded study has shown that…
Statin may reduce premature births in women with lipid syndrome. A drug which has been widely used in the general population to prevent cardiovascular disease appears to help prevent pregnancy complications in women with antiphospholipid syndrome, new research has found. The new statin treatment may hold promise in reducing premature births and increasing babies' chances of survival for mothers with…
