Taking a pregnancy test can make a woman’s heart race. Some test-takers are desperate to see two lines or a plus sign — any indication that big changes lie nine months down the road. Others are just as desperate for chemical …
Pregnancy
The New Cost of Preventing Prematurity: Will KV Back Off the High Price of Makena?
KV Pharmaceutical’s Makena, a new brand of an old drug to prevent premature birth, went on sale last week at an exponentially increased price — going from about $10-$20 per dose to $1,500, and inviting widespread criticism and scrutiny.
In Japan, Pregnant Women Have Double the Reason to Dodge Radiation
When Kathryn Higley, head of the department of nuclear engineering and radiation health physics at Oregon State University, learned she was pregnant years ago, she immediately informed her supervisor, who outfitted her with a …
What Depresses Moms-to-Be the Most? Their Unsupportive Partners
In yet more troubling news for expecting mothers — especially those who got pregnant unintentionally, or conceived to try to save a relationship — a study finds that a mother’s concerns about an ambivalent father-to-be can be …
Women Grieve Miscarriage for Years, Even After Having a Healthy Baby
When a woman miscarries, it’s typically far more hurtful than helpful to say something like, “At least you have other children.” Now, new research backs that up and goes a step further, finding that even women who go on to …
Study: Secondhand Smoke Increases Risk of Stillbirth, Birth Defects
Note to expectant fathers: Stop smoking.
KV Backlash: Senator Condemns Pregnancy Drug Price Hike
In the wake of growing public outrage over the 150-fold increase in the price of a drug used to prevent premature birth — newly approved Makena, a form of progesterone, will cost $1,500 a dose compared with $10 for existing …
Can Patients Get Around the Exorbitant New Cost of a Pregnancy Drug?
The cost of a drug used to prevent premature birth in high-risk mothers will rise from around $10 per dose to $1,500, now that the FDA has approved a branded version of the medication.
Expecting? Text ‘BABY’ for Advice About Healthy Pregnancy
When Megan Johnson was eight weeks pregnant, a nurse told her about a new, free service that would send her customized text messages about her current stage of pregnancy. All she had to do was text “BABY” (or “BEBE” for …
Saving Maternal Lives — With a Magic Marker
Giving birth is never entirely safe or even remotely easy — especially in the developing world, where prenatal care may be nonexistent, postnatal care little better and access to hospitals or midwives is unreliable. That’s why …
Uterus May Be More Important than Egg Quality for Healthy Babies
The health of a woman’s uterus seems to trump the quality of her eggs when it comes to a baby conceived via fertility treatment being born full-term and at a normal weight.
Grandma Gives Birth to her Grandchild: Weird or Wonderful?
Kristine Casey became a grandma for the first time last week. Finnean Lee Connell arrived by C-section as Casey and her daughter, Sara Connell, held hands. The moment was particularly poignant for Casey, 61, because she had also …
The ‘Unbortion:’ Chicago Hospital Persuades Women to Halt Abortions
There are many decisions in life that are irreversible, but, as it turns out, abortion does not have to be one of them.