placenta

  • A mother lays on the couch with her baby on her knees while looking depressed.
    postpartum depression

    Team links placental hormone spike to postpartum depression

    A new study links a spike in a placental hormone late in pregnancy to postpartum depression symptoms. The work could help in early detection.
  • hands hold ultrasound image
    placenta

    This protein outside uterus is key to healthy pregnancy

    A protein found throughout the body plays a big role in immune system modulation in pregnancy and affects placental health, a study finds.
  • black and white engraved illustration of placenta
    miscarriage

    Measuring placenta can often explain pregnancy loss

    Measuring the placenta can determine the cause of previously unexplained miscarriages and stillbirths, say researchers.
  • textbook diagram of placenta with blue and red blood vessels
    imaging technology

    New approach can better monitor the placenta

    Researchers are developing a new way to monitor the placenta during pregnancy with optical measurements and ultrasound.
  • A woman drinks from a plastic bottle of water under a blue sky
    bisphenol A (BPA)

    BPA transmission via placenta could harm fetal brain development

    Direct transmission of BPA via the placenta can harm fetal brain development, researchers report. The new study explores mRNA's role.
  • A newborn in the hospital wearing a white cap and covered in a white blanket
    babies

    Healthy placentas could protect brains of growth-restricted babies

    Stem cells from healthy placentas could one day help reduce brain injury in growth-restricted infants, babies who fail to grow normally in the womb.
  • petri dishes
    placenta ,

    New stem cell technique could create placenta tissue

    An unexpected discovery could provide stem cells for the creation of placenta tissue. Until now, that hasn't been possible.
  • A bottle is filled with green pills
    placenta

    Opioids during pregnancy may disrupt the placenta

    Opioid use during pregnancy can affect the placenta's structure, harming cells key for normal brain development, a study with mice suggests.
  • hands hold ultrasound print-out
    pregnancy

    Stem cell advance could demystify the placenta

    A new advance could make it easier to study the placenta, and its role in pregnancy, miscarriage, and preeclampsia, say researchers.
  • cap and mouth of red plastic reusable water bottle
    plastics

    BPA-free plastic may still not be safe

    Is BPA-free plastic safe? New research with mice suggests the alternative chemical, BPS, also poses risks.
  • A woman with a cold blows her red nose while looking miserable on a white sheet
    pathogens

    A common cold virus may sneak in to infect placenta

    The placenta acts as a gatekeeper during pregnancy, but a study that shows how RSV can infect the fetus suggests it's not as impenetrable as once thought.
  • blue wellplate with pipette
    pregnancy

    Technique suggests less invasive way to test fetal genes

    A new technique that isolates trophoblast cells—placental cells that carry the complete fetal genome—could offer an alternative to more invasive tests.