http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7861203.stm

Measuring levels of a hormone midway through pregnancy may predict a woman's risk of postnatal depression, say US researchers. In a study of 100 women, levels of the pCRH hormone at 25 weeks helped predict three-quarters of those who developed the "baby blues". The researchers said, if proven in larger studies, the test could be used routinely to screen for depression.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7860251.stm

Premature births cost the UK an extra £939m a year, say researchers at the Oxford Centre for Health Economics. Their study calculated what the costs would be for all the preterm babies born in 2006 over the first 18 years of their life. They looked at healthcare, education and the costs to their parents of having to have more time off work. And they say that more funding for research into ways to delay premature births could save £260m a year.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4360605/Women-who-drink-too-much-in-labour-risk-convulsions-and-coma.html

Those who consumed more than four pints of water (2.5 litres) during labour significantly increased their chances of suffering from hyponatraemia - the medical name for a water overdose, the scientists found. The reduced sodium levels associated with hyponatraemia can result in longer labour and, if left unchecked, cause swelling of the brain resulting in convulsions and in some cases coma, they warned. While there are no guidelines on the safe levels of water intake during labour in the UK, previous studies have encouraged a high fluid intake for successful births.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/4307709/Extra-money-for-maternity-care-not-reaching-the-frontline.html

Money designed to to improve maternity care and prevent women giving birth alone or in overcrowded wards is not reaching frontline services, a new survey suggests. Last year the Government pledged an extra £330 million to care for women giving birth. But more than a third of trusts have not allocated the money specifically to maternity care, an investigation by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) suggests.The failure could hold up a Government target to allow every woman in England to choose where to give birth, including at home, by the end of this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7839671.stm

Doctors say women who drink heavily early in a pregnancy - possibly before they know they are pregnant - may be raising the risk of premature delivery. A study of 4,719 Australian women found almost an 80% higher risk for women who drank heavily in the first third of pregnancy, then stopped. However, experts warned it was possible the results were a "statistical quirk".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7837024.stm

Some medicines routinely given to premature babies expose them to potentially harmful levels of chemicals, British research suggests. Doctors at Leicester Royal Infirmary looked at liquid medicines given to 38 babies in a special care unit. Some contained chemicals linked to nerve damage, they wrote in Archives of Disease in Childhood. However, premature baby charity Bliss said that such medicines could be "vital" in saving the baby's life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7833058.stm

Concerns have been raised about pregnant women being induced "unnecessarily", after a Scottish audit of 17,000 births. In more than a quarter of cases, researchers could not find a medical or other explanation for the procedure.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7817686.stm

Routine screening of newborn babies for a life-threatening heart problem can save lives, a Swedish study has found. Researchers found checking blood oxygen levels increased detection of a congenital heart defect which affects up to two in a thousand babies. The British Medical Journal online study says just under a third currently leave hospital undiagnosed, leading to added complications and more deaths. UK experts are investigating if screening should be introduced.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7821056.stm

The risk of epidurals and spinal anaesthetics to expectant mothers and patients undergoing surgery may be being overstated, a study suggests. Researchers at Bath's Royal United Hospital analysed the complications from the 700,000 pain-killing injections given each year. They found
the risk of harm was at least as low as one in 23,000 - 10 times less than tends to be estimated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7795127.stm

A premature birth can cause lasting impairment to the child's sensory powers, research suggests. A British study of 43 11-year-old children who had been born 14 weeks early found their ability to sense temperature was compromised. Prematurity may also affect pain perception, the journal Pain reports.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/19/baby-boom-shortage

Mothers and babies were put at risk by an acute shortage of beds and midwives in an NHS hospital that failed to plan for the pressures of the baby boom, health inspectors said today. The Healthcare Commission found systemic failure in the maternity unit at Milton Keynes
foundation hospital trust in Buckinghamshire.

The commission reported in July on a two-year study of 150 hospital trusts offering maternity services in England. It found 89% of the women rated their care in labour as excellent, very good, or good. But it also found evidence of women in labour being left alone and anxious
through midwife shortages, of people not getting the pain relief they wanted, of an absence of bathrooms, of lack of choice and information, and of too much medical intervention.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7790248.stm

Pregnant women at risk of delivering early should not be given too many doses of steroids, say researchers. The drugs are given to promote lung development in the foetus and increase the chances of survival. But a study of 1,800 women suggested multiple courses of steroids do not improve outcomes after premature birth and may lead to smaller babies

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7780158.stm

British researchers have identified a potential target for encouraging lung growth in babies in the womb.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7777959.stm

Researchers have identified a test which can predict whether a woman is likely to give birth if her waters break early in pregnancy. High levels of lactate in vaginal fluid is strongly associated with onset of labour within 48 hours, according to Swedish researchers. UK experts said the test would help to plan care and reassure women whose membranes rupture prematurely.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7767316.stm
Stress in the six months before conception increases the risk of giving birth prematurely, research suggests. Mothers who experience a death or serious illness in the family before falling pregnant are more likely to have a preterm baby, a study found. The link was particularly strong in mothers who had experienced "severe life events" in older children, the Human Reproduction journal reported.