Sixteen mothers of HIV-infected children here have been infected by the deadly virus, possibly through breastfeeding.

Some 41 toddlers and eight adults were infected with HIV in 2007, allegedly by health workers in the southern Osh region

Babies whose mothers develop pre-eclampsia and their do not get enough oxygen in the womb in pregnancy may be at greater risk of cardiovascular disease in later life, a study suggests.

Pre-eclampsia is a condition that occurs during pregnancy which causes high blood pressure and can affect the kidneys, liver, brain and placenta. It can cause problems with the placenta by reducing the amount of oxygen the foetus receives

Infants who sleep less than twelve hours a day are at a greater risk of becoming overweight in preschool, a new Harvard study has found. Also, regular television viewing increases the risk of babies and toddlers becoming overweight.

Babies who watch more than two hours of television had a 16 percent chance of becoming overweight, the research published in April's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine said. The study was based on mothers' reports of their babies' sleep and television viewing habits, and direct measures of the children's height, weight and skin thickness

A new non-invasive prenatal DNA diagnosis to assess the baby's Rhesus-D negative (RhD) status can now save the RhD negative women from painful injections. Around 100,000 pregnant women a year are found to be RhD negative, posing risk for the baby.

Currently, all women who test RhD negative at routine antenatal checks are given one or two antiserum injections during the pregnancy. But scientists say an easy, rapid test to assess the baby's RhD status means more than a third of RhD negative women can skip the injections. Trial results of the test are reported in the British Medical Journal

A United Nations report revealed on Thursday that it achieve progress in treating children with AIDS and preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The report examines progress and challenges in four key areas - preventing HIV transmission from mothers to children (PMTCT), providing paediatric treatment, preventing infection among adolescents and young people, and protecting and supporting children affected by AIDS