Reproductive Health News

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, prenatal telehealth visits increased substantially with higher telehealth rates particularly among patients with Medicaid, according to a cross-sectional study published in JAMA Network Open.

The FDA withdrew approval of hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection, the only drug that had been approved to reduce risk for preterm birth in women with a history of spontaneous preterm birth, according to an agency press release.

Cancers diagnosed during pregnancy or 1 year post-partum had greater overall 5-year mortality compared with those not diagnosed near pregnancy, but risks were not the same for all cancer sites, researchers reported in JAMA Oncology.

Newborns in the NICU conceived naturally and through assisted reproductive technology had similar types of genetic diagnoses and incidence of de novo genetic variants, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

Same-sex couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology experienced more favorable or similar birth outcomes vs. heterosexual couples, suggesting infertility-related factors contribute to higher adverse birth outcomes, data show.

Ozone exposure was associated with an increased risk for gestational hypertension during the first trimester of pregnancy, according to a cohort study published in JAMA Network Open.

Onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with significant increases in postpartum opioid fills, which may lead to increases in adverse outcomes, according to a retrospective cross-sectional study published in JAMA Network Open.

Hepatitis C virus among the U.S. obstetric population rose nearly 10-fold over 20 years, which might reflect an increase in screening or prevalence, according to researchers.

Low-risk cesarean deliveries decreased over the study period, with cesarean deliveries for labor arrest growing less common and those for nonreassuring fetal status increasing, according to study findings.

Pregnant women who vaccinated against COVID-19 had lower rates of perinatal death, preterm delivery, neonates with very low birth weight and NICU admission than unvaccinated women, researchers reported in Obstetrics & Gynecology.