Chewing nicotine gum may not help pregnant women stop smoking, but it may help them cut back and may cut their risk of having a premature baby or a low-birthweight baby.

The incidence of schizophrenia was increased in the offspring of mothers who were in the early stages of pregnancy during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, according to findings.

Common antidepressant drugs may reduce some men's fertility by damaging the DNA in their sperm, according to scientists.

Living near a highway increases a woman's risk of having a low birth-weight baby, according to a study of almost 100 000 live births in Montreal between 1997 and 2001.

A drug taken by millions of women in recent decades to improve the chances of conceiving a child yields the same results as no treatment at all, according to a study.

A US researcher's argument that twins should be the goal of in vitro fertilisation drew opposition from many researchers on Monday who warned of the risks of multiple pregnancies.

Startling evidence has emerged from a new study showing that the older the father of a baby is, the greater the chances of a miscarriage.

Women with inadequately treated asthma during pregnancy are at increased risk for premature delivery, according to a new study.

Some of the harmful effects on early child development attributed to postpartum depression may be caused in part by depression during pregnancy, a UK study shows.

Women who gain too much weight during pregnancy may not only have bigger babies, but bigger teenagers as well, a study suggests.

Women who get pregnant after weight-loss surgery tend to be healthier and less likely to deliver a baby born with complications compared to obese women, researchers said.

Doctors may soon be able to diagnose inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis, thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia in foetuses by simply testing a blood sample from the mother.

Research suggests that women who suffer migraines are at risk for developing high blood pressure during pregnancy as well as preeclampsia.

New moms are in the greatest danger of developing psychotic illness in the first month after they give birth, a new study in hundreds of thousands of women shows.

Researchers have found that many 12-year-olds who were born prematurely with a very low birth weight have lower IQs and more developmental problems than others born at term.

A study has shown that when a baby cries excessively for no apparent reason the problem is likely to be serious in only about one in 20 cases.

British scientists have shown for the first time how our brain's "wiring" develops in the first few months of life.

It's commonly believed that one of the sacrifices new moms must make in order to breast-feed is their sleep. But new research suggests that's just not the case.

It may not be how much weight a woman gains during pregnancy, but how much she loses afterward, that affects her risk of urinary incontinence after childbirth.

With the help of their doctors, women planning to become pregnant should take an inventory of the medications they take, researchers from Canada advise.

Obese women who gain more than 7kg during pregnancy tend to retain much of it long after delivery, a new study finds.

Gaining more than the recommended weight during pregnancy can put women at increased risk of becoming obese and developing related health problems.

Women who smoke during pregnancy may be putting their unborn children at increased risk for a DNA change, a new study suggests.