Reproductive Health News

In the U.S., birth and general fertility rates dropped while the percentage of women receiving no prenatal care rose from 2022 to 2023, according to a recent CDC birth trends report.

The prevalence of infants born small for gestational age in China fell by more than 27% from 2012 to 2020, a change attributed to several improved maternal factors including access to care, researchers reported.

Labor duration was independently associated with risks for adverse maternal outcomes, specifically intraamniotic infection, during second-trimester medication abortion, according to study results published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

U.S. congenital syphilis rates rose from 2016 to 2020 and were linked to preterm birth, longer hospital length of stay and higher costs with race/ethnicity, insurance, income, admission year and hospital characteristics tied to likelihood.

Cell-free DNA analyses were accurate in detecting fetal antigen status as early as 10 weeks’ gestation in women with alloimmunized pregnancies, according to results of a large, diverse U.S. cohort study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The CDC recently issued updated guidance regarding the provision of medications for IUD placement, stating that lidocaine “might be useful” for reducing patient pain and that misoprostol is no longer recommended for routine use.

Among a select group of women with uterine factor infertility, uterus transplant was feasible and associated with a high live birth rate after successful graft survival, data from a case series show.

Women with vs. without intellectual and developmental disabilities have greater risks for stillbirth and other adverse obstetric, mental health and medical outcomes, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open.

Studies on the risk for maternal, fetal and infant outcomes with exclusive vaping, smoking or nonuse during pregnancy have contradictory and unreliable conclusions with poor study quality, according to a systematic review.

Women who were pregnant during cardiology fellowship reported basic radiation safety standards were “variably enforced” during pregnancy, along with a rate of pregnancy complications higher than the general population, survey data show.