International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

A new blood test for ectopic pregnancy should help women suffering from the condition receive earlier diagnosis and possibly have their fertility saved.

The new test, which has been developed by scientists in Pennsylvania, US, could detect whether a baby is growing outside the womb with higher accuracy than current tests.

Almost 15 per cent of women in England who gave birth in 2008/9 smoked during gestation, a new survey has revealed.

The statistics, which were compiled by the Department of Health and the Association of Public Observatories, found the rates of smoking during pregnancy varied across the country.

Sexual health services in the UK have improved significantly over the last ten years, but there is "still a way to go" in terms of addressing accessibility, it has been suggested.

A new fast test for breast cancer has been developed which can immediately identify the presence of a tumour.

Professor Zhipeng Wu from the University of Manchester has invented the portable scanner, based on radio frequency technology, which can detect a tumour within just seconds.

The success of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment could be set to improve as researchers have developed a new screening test to find the healthiest embryos.

In the test, which lasts for four hours, fertility doctors are able to find the embryos with large-scale genetic faults, which are to blame for six out of every seven miscarriages.

A new birth control gel, which is applied directly to the skin, could provide an alternative for women who dislike the Pill, experts have suggested.

The gel, which has to be used once a day, delivers hormones, in the same way the Pill does, to prevent the women falling pregnant.

The outcome of a pregnancy is affected by the immune system genes of the mother, a new study has revealed.

UK researchers looked at genetic factors which increase or protect mothers' from suffering certain common disorders during gestation, including recurrent miscarriage, preeclampsia, and foetal growth restriction.

Fiji needs to reduce its maternal mortality rate by 70 per cent in order to meet the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by 2015.

Women with blood type O may have more fertility problems as they age compared to females with other blood types, a new study has found.

US researchers tested a group of women looking into fertility treatment. They found that those with blood type O seemed to have a lower egg count and a poorer quality of them.

The chance of a child developing allergies or wheezing is determined very early on in life, during vital stages in the womb, scientists in the UK have found.

Foetuses which develop quickly early on in pregnancy, then falter in the latter stages, are more likely to develop allergies and asthma as children, researchers from the University of Southampton have discovered.