Many parents worry that an epidural in labour might harm their baby. Two large 2026 studies, of nearly half a million births in Scotland and almost 2,000 Swedish children followed to age eleven, found no evidence that epidurals increase the risk of serious newborn illness, death, cerebral palsy or…

Many pregnant women take metformin, a blood-sugar tablet that also reaches the baby. Three new studies suggest that, compared with insulin injections, it slightly lowers the chance of low blood sugar after birth and does not appear to affect children's development when they start school, while one…

New research from the United States suggests that when states give parents paid time off around the birth of a baby, fewer mothers develop high blood pressure in pregnancy and fewer very young babies need emergency care for breathing infections. One large study also found very small increases in…

When a baby is about to be born between 22 and 25 weeks of pregnancy, families often have to decide whether the birth should be by cesarean section (an operation through the belly and womb). A large US study of nearly 100 000 such births found that mothers who had a cesarean were more likely to…

In a rare pregnancy condition, a mother's antibodies destroy her unborn baby's red blood cells, sometimes before 24 weeks. A 2026 study of 15 such pregnancies found that, even with expert care, 13 babies needed blood transfusions in the womb and all 14 newborns needed light treatment for jaundice…

Giving families money during pregnancy and a baby's first year, with no strings attached, may help in ways that can be measured. In Flint, Michigan, a program that paid every expectant mother was followed by better use of prenatal care and fewer child-protection investigations involving babies. In…

Omega-3 supplements taken in pregnancy modestly lower the chance of a baby arriving too early, but the effect has been inconsistent: some studies found a clear benefit and others none. Researchers have now re-examined a completed American trial of two DHA doses and found that a common variation in…

High blood pressure in pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia, is a common reason babies are born very early. New research suggests these babies are more likely to grow slowly in hospital alongside a second problem such as liver strain, an underactive thyroid or lung disease, and that children exposed…

Some hospitals offer every pregnant woman an ultrasound that measures the length of the cervix, the "neck" of the womb, and give a hormone called progesterone to those whose cervix is short, in the hope of preventing premature birth. A 2026 review of the research found that we still do not know for…

Researchers in 2026 asked whether very hot or very cold weather during pregnancy is linked to babies arriving early, and whether a mother's surroundings relate to how extremely premature babies do in intensive care. Both extreme cold and extreme heat were linked to earlier birth, and cold, little…

Large studies of pregnant women who took paracetamol (called acetaminophen in the United States) show a very small link with autism and ADHD in their children, but that link disappears when children are compared with their own brothers and sisters. A 2025 review also found that many earlier…

Being born too early — before 37 weeks of pregnancy — is one of the biggest threats to a newborn's health, and most families get no warning it's coming. A major new study tested whether a simple blood test partway through pregnancy could flag higher-risk pregnancies early enough to help, and found…