Omega-3 intake during the last months of pregnancy boosts an infant's cognitive and motor development, a study says.

A team supervised by Université Laval researchers Gina Muckle and Éric Dewailly conducted tests on a group of infants at 6 and 11 months. Researchers measured docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid included in the development of neurons and retinas, in the umbilical cord blood of 109 infants

A new U.S. study suggests that babies of women who use drugs, alcohol or tobacco during pregnancy may have altered brain structures that continue into early adolescence.

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Boston Medical Center used MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans to study the brains of 35 children, average age 12, who were exposed to the substances while in the womb

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

According to a study, female veterinarians doubled their risk of miscarriage because of increased exposure to anesthetic gases, pesticides and X-rays.

The study was conducted by the University of Western Australia. It serves as a warning for all young female veterinarians, who must know the inherent risks should they want to get pregnant

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