Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 14, 2022

Am I Pregnant? | Taking a Home Pregnancy Test

If you are figuring out how to get pregnant successfully, a home pregnancy test is a must. The do-it-yourself kits, which are sold over-the-counter at drug stores, grocery stores and discount stores, check a woman's urine and can detect a pregnancy in its early weeks not long after she misses...

Oct 14, 2022

Tiny 'Lizard-Like' Muscles Found in Developing Embryos Vanish Before Birth

In the womb, developing humans grow extra muscles in their hands and feet that later disappear without a trace, scientists have discovered. The temporary tissues, the researchers found, may be leftovers from our evolutionary ancestors. The mysterious muscles can be found in limbed animals with more dexterous digits than ours,...

Oct 21, 2022

How to get pregnant: Tips and facts to increase fertility

You may have many questions about how to get pregnant, particularly if you have an underlying condition. Taking care of your body is a good first step to optimize your fertility. But what else can you do to improve your odds of having a baby? The most important advice for...

Nov 10, 2022

Sex prediction: Am I having a boy or girl?

There are many methods of sex prediction out there for expecting parents, but the most commonly used and widely accepted is ultrasound. Ultrasound exams have a variety of purposes during pregnancy, but the use that often receives the most attention is its ability to reveal the sex of the baby....

Nov 16, 2022

'Organ-on-chip' shows how uterus coaxes embryo to implant in early pregnancy

Scientists designed a tiny organ-on-a-chip, about the size of a quarter, that replicates early pregnancy, when the embryo implants in the lining of the uterus. In a report published earlier this year in the journal Nature Communications, the device's designers described the new technology in detail. The small device is...

Nov 28, 2022

Embryos frozen for 30 years produce healthy twin newborns

A pair of twins born in late October arose from embryos that had been frozen for nearly 30 years, CNN reported. The twins, named Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway, may have broken the record for being the longest-frozen embryos to ever result in a live birth. The previous record-holder, Molly Everette...

Nov 30, 2022

Pregnancy causes dramatic changes in the brain, study confirms

Pregnancy leads to striking changes in the brain, including alterations in gray matter and regions involved in self-perception, according to a new study. The findings suggest that these neurological changes may promote bonding between mother and baby and could play a role in the identity shift that many women feel...

Jan 5, 2023

Why is there still no male birth control pill?

With no male birth control pill currently on the market, contraceptive options for men are limited. Instead, birth control generally falls to women, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that of all the sexually active women using contraceptives in the United States, just 8.6% rely on...

Feb 14, 2023

900% increase in babies born with syphilis in Mississippi may be part of nationwide trend

Mississippi has seen a dramatic increase in the number of babies born with syphilis. Hospitals in the state treated just over 100 cases of congenital syphilis in 2021, compared with only 10 in 2016, according to a recent analysis of hospital billing data shared with NBC News. That analysis was...

Feb 23, 2023

In rare case, mother delivers two sets of identical twins, back to back

In a rare case, a mother in Alabama gave birth to two sets of identical twins in back-to-back pregnancies. Britney Alba learned she was pregnant with twins for the second time roughly six months after she'd given birth to her first set of twins, a pair of boys named Luka...

Mar 1, 2023

Endometriosis: Causes, symptoms and treatments

Endometriosis is a medical condition that occurs when the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, grows in other places, such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries or along the pelvis. When that lining breaks down, as the regular lining in the uterus does during menstruation, it has nowhere to go....

Mar 27, 2023

Why is endometriosis so hard to diagnose?

Endometriosis occurs when the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, grows outside the uterus, often in places such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries or along the pelvis. The condition can cause cysts, heavy periods, severe cramps and even infertility, according to the Office on Women's Health, part of the...

Mar 30, 2023

World's population could plummet to 6 billion by the end of the century, study suggests

Population growth could grind to a halt by 2050, before decreasing to as little as 6 billion humans on Earth in 2100, a new analysis of birth trends has revealed. The study, commissioned by the nonprofit organization The Club of Rome, predicts that if current trends continue, the world's population,...

Apr 10, 2023

What do we know about mifepristone, the abortion pill facing a potential Supreme Court ruling?

The fate of the abortion pill mifepristone, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more than 20 years ago, will likely soon be pushed into the hands of the Supreme Court. Here's what you need to know about mifepristone and about the recent federal court rulings that could...

May 5, 2023

Doctors perform 1st-of-its-kind brain surgery on a fetus in the womb

For the first time, doctors surgically repaired a malformed blood vessel in a baby's brain while she was still in the womb. The baby, born in mid-March, was discharged from the hospital a few weeks after birth and has not required any medications or other treatments since then. I heard...