http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11219562

More needs to be done to establish which are safe and effective ways to relieve morning sickness, experts say. There is reluctance to use pharmaceutical products in pregnancy due to Thalidomide, the 1960s anti-nausea drug which led to birth defects. But there is little evidence to suggest that alternative therapies have any real impact, the international group of researchers Cochrane found. Campaigners say women who suffer receive a “Cinderella service”. Despite its name, the vomiting and nausea of morning sickness can occur at any time of the day and affect about half of pregnant women. About two in 100 will experience it so badly they need to be hospitalised.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11230642

Scientists have begun a study to determine if an everyday vitamin supplement could help prevent one of Britain’s most common birth defects. Every year about 100 children in the UK are born with spina bifida and other neural tube defects. Prospective mothers are advised to take folic acid as a way of preventing the condition. However, scientists think the vitamin inositol, taken with folic acid, may be more effective at preventing defects. Despite taking folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, some woman still go on to have children with neural tube defects. Many more pregnancies are terminated when the condition is diagnosed by ultrasound scan. Scientists think inositol could prevent these extra cases.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/sep/01/william-hague-wife-miscarriage

Between one in four and one in five of all pregnancies ends in miscarriage. That means that somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000 conceptions every year end that way. They involve pain, frustration, distress and fear for the women involved and their partners. A woman has about a one in five chance of having one miscarriage, a one in 25 chance of having a second, and roughly a one in 125 chance of losing a baby that way for a third time, according to Dr Justin Clark, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Birmingham Women’s Hospital. William Hague revealed last night that his wife, Ffion, had had “multiple miscarriages”, including one this summer. Most miscarriages happen in the first 12 to 14 weeks of pregnancy. A woman’s risk of having one goes down to about one in 100 during the second trimester of her pregnancy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1305901/Aspirin-pregnancy-prevent-pre-eclampsia-says-NHS.html

Taking aspirin in pregnancy could save thousands of women from developing a condition that can threaten the lives of both mother and baby, say new NHS guidelines. The painkiller cuts the risk of pre-eclampsia which raises blood pressure, leading to strokes and even death. It is more common in first-time pregnancies and can lead to premature birth, stillbirth and babies being born smaller than average. As many as one in 20 first-time mothers develops pre-eclampsia, while around 20 women die each year from conditions linked to high blood pressure. It is thought to claim the lives of 600 babies a year. The only treatment is to deliver the baby early with an emergency Caesarean.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1304437/Babies-exposed-pesticides-womb-likely-develop-ADHD.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Pregnant women who are exposed to pesticides may be more likely to have hyperactive children. A study found that babies exposed to crop sprays while still in the womb had greater odds of being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at the age of five. It is feared that the powerful chemicals used to keep fields free of pests damage the developing brain and nervous system.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10927611

Pregnant women who fast during Ramadan could be putting the health of their unborn baby at risk, according to a new study. Fasting during the month is one of the five pillars of Islam, although pregnant women are exempt if it poses a risk to their health. However, some Muslim women still choose to fast, despite the health implications. Aanisa Butt, 32, fasted during both of her pregnancies. ”I wouldn’t fast every day, I would do one day of fasting followed by a day of rest. Doing alternate days helped me keep my energy levels up,” she said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/06/bmj-advice-for-women-who-miscarry

The hundreds of thousands of women who miscarry each year should try to become pregnant again soon rather than waiting for months, doctors advise today. Would-be mothers who conceive within six months of a first miscarriage are more likely to have a successful and uncomplicated subsequent pregnancy, according to a study in the British Medical Journal. They are at less risk of losing a second child compared with those who leave it until between six and 12 months. In a study of 30,000 women in Scotland who had a miscarriage between 1981 and 2000, 85% of those who conceived again within six months had a healthy baby, but just 73% of those who waited more than two years did so. Those who become pregnant within six months also have less chance of having a premature baby, a child with low birthweight or a caesarean delivery, according to research led by Dr Sohinee Bhattacharya, a lecturer in obstetric epidemiology at Aberdeen maternity hospital.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7926233/Putting-on-too-much-weight-in-pregnancy-risk-babys-health.html

Women who put on too much weight during pregnancy are risking the lifelong health of their baby, research has shown. American scientists have discovered that piling on the pounds during pregnancy harms the baby by making it too fat. Previously it was not known if the link between a mother’s weight gain and the baby’s health was due to faulty genes being passed on or the actual excess weight of the mother having a direct effect on the growing feotus. By studying women who have had two babies, a team at the Boston Children’s Hospital and Columbia University, in New York, have found that for every kilo (2.2lbs) a mother gains during pregnancy the baby’s weight increases by seven grams (quarter of an ounce).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10856754

The care of pregnant women in England is being undermined by the lack of involvement of GPs, experts say. The King’s Fund said over the past 30 years the role of the family doctor in helping women before, during and after pregnancy had “all but disappeared”. It suggested they should be paid more as an incentive to take on greater responsibility. GPs said they would be willing to get more involved, but midwives said doctors needed more training.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7912557/Mothers-must-lose-baby-weight-before-getting-pregnant-again-NICE-says.html

Mothers have insisted for years that it is impossible to lose the “baby weight” they gain during pregnancy. But now experts have said that slimming down after giving birth is not only possible but necessary for those who plan to have another child. Overweight mothers who become pregnant again before returning to their original weight put themselves and their babies at risk of a raft of serious complications, according to new guidelines from the Government health watchdog. The age-old saying that women should “eat for two” while pregnant and breastfeeding is a myth and women should not be afraid to start dieting soon after giving birth, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/2010/jul/23/childhood-radiotherapy-could-harm-chances-of-a-healthy-pregnancy

Having radiotherapy to the womb or ovaries as a child could cause problems when women later try to have a baby, researchers say. Radiotherapy before puberty increases the risk of a stillbirth or infant death, according to the study, which looked at more than 1,600 women.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10742898

Parents-to-be should not be allowed to record ultrasounds on mobile phones or video cameras, pregnancy scans experts say. The Society and College of Radiographers says there are an increasing number of reports of patients trying to make recordings. But it warns sonographers could be distracted, and miss vital signs of problems in the developing baby. It is down to individual hospitals to decide if recordings should be allowed. The college, which says that developments in technology mean the ways in which such recordings could be made are bound to increase, has now issued guidance to its members on how to deal with patients’ requests to film scans.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/2010/jul/23/friendly-bacteria-in-pregnancy-may-prevent-eczema-in-childhood

Mothers who drink milk containing ‘friendly bacteria’ (probiotics) while pregnant and breastfeeding may reduce their child’s risk of developing eczema, reports a new study. And if their child does develop eczema, it may be less severe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10730086

Women given radiotherapy to treat cancer during childhood may be at a higher risk of suffering a stillbirth or baby dying, a study says. Researchers from Vanderbilt University in the US looked at nearly 5,000 pregnancies involving a parent who had survived childhood cancer. They found high doses of radiation to the pelvis raised the risk for women, but not men, the Lancet reported. Doctors agreed that such pregnancies should be monitored closely. The researchers believe the finding may be linked to radiotherapy affecting the development of the uterus and ovaries. Men are not affected in such a way because they produce new sperm throughout their lives.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-10696611

The heartbeats of a mother and her unborn foetus synchronise when she breathes rhythmically, researchers have said. Scientists at the University of Aberdeen claim the connection paves the way for a new technique to detect development problems during pregnancy. They said if this synchronisation did not happen it could signal something might be wrong. This, the researchers suggest, could allow early medical intervention.