Aurora magazine

A study led by Professor Sylvia Becker-Dreps shows how the Tdap vaccine during pregnancy reduces the risk of pertussis in infants. According to the teacher, the vaccine protects the baby for over 18 months after giving birth.

Pertussis is a serious respiratory infection that can also lead to death in newborns. In the United States, there has been an increase in cases since 2000. For this reason, doctors recommend to inoculate the vaccine at 2, 4 and 6 months. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control began recommending the Tdap vaccine during pregnancy.

The Tdap protects against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. If inoculated during pregnancy, maternal antibodies cross the placenta and protect the fetus even after delivery. The recommendation was based however on immunological data. For this reason, Professor Becker-Dreps conducted a clinical trial that confirmed the efficacy of the vaccine.

The study analyzed more than 675,000 pregnancies in the United States, conducted between 2010 and 2014. The researchers compared the data of women who received the Tdap and those of hospitalized newborns. From what emerged, the inoculated vaccine during pregnancy protects the fetus for at least 6 months after delivery. At this point the child is big enough to receive the vaccine directly.

Among children exposed to the vaccine, there was a 75% reduction in the number of hospitalizations and 46% of pertussis cases. The rate of effectiveness was high in cases of vaccinations performed at the end of the third quarter. Instead, it was revealed null in how many had performed the vaccine in the first trimester. The best time to get vaccinated would therefore be between the 27th and the 36th week of gestation.

Source: med.unc.edu

In this historical period, Australia is experiencing a dark period regarding the relationship with weight. More and more Australians are overweight or obese, with serious consequences on public health. According to recent studies, weighing too much would have negative implications for fertility too.

The regulation of the menstrual cycle is linked to a delicate hormonal balance. Both the excess weight and the deficit can affect it. Specifically, overweight and obese women have high levels of the hormone leptin. This can undermine hormonal balance and reduce fertility. Furthermore, excess fat mass is linked to increased insulin resistance. To regulate blood sugar levels, the body must therefore produce more insulin and lower levels of sex hormones.

One study examined the probabilities of conceiving within a year in normal and obese women. In normal-weight women, the odds are 81.4%. In those obese, however, they are 66.4%. A very marked difference, linked to the factors mentioned above. In severe cases, obesity affects the hormonal balance so much that it blocks the release of the oocytes. The phenomenon is 3 times more likely in women with a body mass index above 27, therefore overweight.
However, many overweight women continue to ovulate, but this does not mean that their fertility is intact. According to the data, each unit above the BMI 29 (obesity threshold) lowers the odds of conceiving by about 4%. A woman with BMI 35 (severe obesity), therefore, has 43% less chance to conceive than a normal-weight woman.

Obesity and overweight also have serious consequences on male fertility. Excess weight is in fact linked to hormonal problems and a greater risk of erectile dysfunction. According to studies, 10 kg too much is needed to reduce male fertility by 10%. In addition, too much fat mass reduces the quality and quantity of sperm.

The data are discomforting, but they also offer a solution. These problems are not permanent. Losing weight increases your chances of conceiving. In obese women, a loss of 5-10 kg is enough to increase the chances of a pregnancy. Losing 7% of body weight and doing at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week improves health and makes you more fertile.

Source: independent.co.uk

Prenatal and neonatal exposure to smoking negatively affects hearing. The risk of hearing impairment doubles if exposure occurs both before and after delivery. This is what emerges from a Japanese research led by Dr. Koji Kawakami of the University of Kyoto. The study was published in the journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.

The researchers examined data from 50,734 newborns. 3.8% of them had been exposed to smoking during intrauterine life. 3.9% had suffered passive smoking in the first months of life. 0.9% had been exposed both prenatally and neonatal. In 12.5% ​​of cases, however, the future mother had quit smoking as soon as she found out she was pregnant.

The analyzes showed a link between hearing problems and smoking during pregnancy. At the age of three, children exposed to smoking in their mother's womb were 68% more likely to have hearing problems. The percentage dropped to 30% more in the case of children exposed to passive smoking only in neonatal age. In the case of ex-smokers mothers, the probability was 26% higher than average. On the other hand, children exposed to smoking in both phases were 2.4 times more likely to experience hearing problems within 3 years.

The results of the study show the importance of quitting smoking before planning a pregnancy, as well as during and after. Many expectant mothers stop smoking when they discover they are pregnant. Although this is an important step, it may not be enough.

Source: ansa.it

A blood sample may be enough to predict the date of delivery and if the baby will be premature. In Italy alone, 32,000 premature babies are born each year, 6.7% of newborns. In other countries, the situation is even worse: according to the WHO, 1 child in 10 in the world is born before the deadline. Preterm birth is also the leading cause of neonatal death. A team led by Stanford University decided to fight the phenomenon with a genetic test.

Nowadays, the method par excellence for estimating gestational age is ultrasound. If in our country it is now taken for granted, it is not so in the poorest areas of the world. In some countries, ultrasound is too expensive and therefore not always available. The test developed by the team is cheaper than ultrasound, so much more palatable for developing countries.

The blood test is able to assess the risk of premature birth in 75-80% of cases. As? In a previous study, Stanford researchers had shown that measuring the amount of circulating RNA helps to estimate the gestational age of the fetus. Starting from this discovery, they examined the genetic material of a group of pregnant women.

The first analyzes conducted on 21 women allowed to identify 9 types of circulating RNA coming from the placenta. In this way they managed to elaborate a statistical model, able to predict the time of delivery. The collected data provide information regarding the development of the fetus, with a precision difficult to obtain with other tools.

The second phase of the tests focused on the premature parts. The researchers involved 38 high-risk pregnant women, one third of whom then gave birth ahead of time. Doctors took a blood sample during the second and third quarters. Thanks to the test, they identified the genetic material of the mother and in particular the anomalies related to seven genes. The analyzes predicted the successive premature births with a degree of accuracy of about 75%. Nevertheless, the actual role of the genes involved is still unclear.

Source: repubblica.it