Aurora magazine

Couples who decide to use in vitro fertilization often fear the consequences for the unborn child. There are indeed rumors that children conceived as such would be more at risk. An international study analyzed the real dangers for those conceived in vitro. From what has emerged, children are no longer subject to preterm birth or low birth weight.

In recent years there has been an increase in couples who use assisted fertilization to conceive. Many others fear the possible consequences for their unborn child. For this reason, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), the London School of Economics and Helsinki University followed 1,245 children.

The children involved in the study were brothers, of whom at least one was conceived with assisted fertilization. The researchers compared the birth problems of the two groups of children. In this way, they analyzed the percentage of problematic parts between naturally conceived siblings and those with IVF.

In fact, children conceived with assisted fertilization or IVF seem to have more problems. The rate of preterm parts is higher, as well as that of very young children at birth. According to the researchers, however, the data would have little to do with assisted fertilization itself. In fact, the really relevant factors would be related to the mother's age and physical characteristics that, among other things, also reduce fertility.

Source: romper.com

A Cambridge team has discovered that the placenta adapts to any nutritional or oxygen deficiencies. Depending on the mother's condition, she changes the nutrient and oxygen supply to the fetus.

Researchers focused on how mitochondria of the placenta change to fit the needs of mom and child. In some cases, deficiencies lead to spontaneous abortions and preterm parts. At other times, they negatively influence the child's weight at birth and undermine his health. Children who are too small are likely to die in cribs, cerebral palsy, developmental problems, obesity.

To prove their thesis, the scientists inserted groups of pregnant guinea pigs in hostile environments. Some of them remained in environments with little oxygen, similar to Peru or to other countries located at high altitude. Others have received less nutrients than necessary. In both cases, the mitochondria reacted to the environmental conditions and the change had repercussions on the fetuses. Many of these developed less than they should have, with delays in fetal development.

The study proves that mitochondria are essential for the proper functioning of the placenta. The next step will be to understand how this affects some pregnancies even under optimal conditions. In this way, one could intervene to improve the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus.

Delays in fetal development have serious consequences even in the adult life of the child. They are in fact linked to cardiovascular and obesity problems. Very young children at birth may also have problems with the kidneys, livers and muscles, which have developed less during gestation.

Source: joh.cam.ac.uk

Taking weight during pregnancy is normal, within certain limits. Numerous studies show that eating too much in pregnancy affects the health of both the mother and the baby. But researchers at the University of California went further. In fact, their study analyzes the long-term effects of a too high-fat pregnant diet. From what emerged, a diet unregulated during gestation reprograms the metabolism even after delivery. It therefore makes it easier to gain weight in subsequent years.

A team of researchers analyzed the state of health of a group of pregnant guinea pigs. Scholars fed part of the guinea pigs in a normal way and partly with very fat foods. The guinea pigs of the second group obviously took a lot of weight, but they lost almost immediately after giving birth. Despite this, the effects of high-fat nutrition were seen months after delivery.

The guinea pigs have resumed eating normally after losing weight. Even with a normal diet, three months after giving birth they began to gain weight. Nine months after delivery, they weighed about twice as high as the average. According to scholars, the high fat diet carried out during pregnancy has slowed the metabolism even at the end of gestation. This made it easier to accumulate fat mass and excess weight.

What has been discovered for mice is also applicable to humans. A too fat diet during pregnancy could increase the risk of obesity in years of childbirth. Even losing weight immediately, in fact, would remain the changes made to the metabolism with a diet so uneven. For further confirmation, however, an analysis will also be conducted on human beings.

Source: medicalxpress.com

Ondansetron is a medication against nausea prescribed during pregnancy. In 2014, about 22% of pregnant women in the United States took it. Nevertheless, the data on its reliability during pregnancy are very few. The studies were mostly small-scale and with conflicting results. For this reason, researchers at Harvard and Brigham analyzed the consequences of the drug in 88,000 gestations.

The researchers focused on the consequences of taking the drug in the first trimester. They looked for possible consequences for the child's health, such as cardiac malformations and cleft lip. According to the study, the drug would be linked to a null increase in the risk of heart malformations. There would instead be a very slight increase in the risk of cleft lip.

The study has retrospectively reviewed the data of 1.8 million pregnancies, all of which occurred between 2000 and 2013. In about 4.9% of these, the doctor had prescribed ondansetron during the first trimester. The researchers thus compared the incidence of problems in the fetus between the two groups.
Among the children who had not been exposed to the drug, 84.4 out of 10,000 were born with cardiac malformations. Among the children of the second group, however, were 94.4 out of 10,000. For cases of cleft lip we speak instead of 11 cases every 10,000 new born against 14 cases for every 10,000 newborns. From a statistical point of view, there is therefore no substantial difference.
Source: harvard.edu