Women’s Health Archive

happy woman with pregnancy test stick
March 9, 2017

Study explores alcohol use patterns in early pregnancy

The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention update recommending that women who are pregnant or could become pregnant abstain from alcohol use prompted a Vanderbilt professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and her team to explore the patterns of alcohol use in early pregnancy.

By Jessica Pasley
February 21, 2017

Laughing gas for labor

Although nitrous oxide was less effective than epidural anesthesia for pain management during labor, mothers who used nitrous oxide were equally satisfied with their childbirth experience.

By Sanjay Mishra
February 16, 2017

Protocol standardizes care for pregnant women on opiates

Complications related to opioid abuse occur in 54,000 pregnancies annually in the United States, and Tennessee ranks among the top 10 states in the number of opioid-dependent pregnant women.

By VUMC News and Communications
September 8, 2016

Collaborative clinic focuses on bleeding disorders

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is home to a specialized clinic for teens, adolescents and young adults focusing on bleeding disorders.

By Jessica Pasley
June 3, 2016

Pregnancy-related heart disorder clues

Vanderbilt researchers have identified biomarkers that could be useful for evaluating and treating pregnancy-related heart failure.

By Yan Su
May 24, 2016

Vanderbilt expert addresses Zika-related concerns for women who are, or want to become, pregnant

With summer time approaching and the topic of mosquitoes abuzz, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist Sarah Osmundson, M.D., has a few recommendations for women who are pregnant or want to become pregnant.

By Jessica Pasley
February 9, 2016

Therapies to prevent preterm birth

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a high-throughput assay that will aid in identifying new compounds to treat preterm labor or postpartum bleeding.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 30, 2015

Prenatal folic acid and asthma

The timing of folic acid-containing prescription filling during pregnancy was associated with childhood asthma, according to a new Vanderbilt study.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 20, 2015

Preventing early pregnancy complications

The enzyme alkaline phosphatase may provide a new therapeutic option for women at high risk of pregnancy complications due to bacterial toxin exposure.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 16, 2014

Vanderbilt participates in national study of group prenatal care

By Nancy Humphrey
April 2, 2014

VU study tracks urinary incontinence therapy

More than 15 million women in the United States are impacted by stress urinary incontinence (SUI) at a cost of nearly $20 billion a year to treat.
By Jessica Pasley
August 23, 2013

Pregnancy promoter and protector

Alkaline phosphatase enzymes appear to play roles in promoting pregnancy and in protecting the uterus from bacterial infection.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 22, 2013

Initiative makes cesarean births a family affair

Robert and Michele McClellan expected the experience of their infant son’s birth via cesarean section to be like that of other women who had had the procedure — unable to witness their son’s exit from the womb and for him to be immediately whisked away.
By Christina Echegaray