International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

First-time mothers will be given help from a new programme launched through the Wellington Aboriginal Corporation Health Service (WACHS).

Through the scheme, women will have access to free home calls by a qualified nurse to help them during their pregnancy, the Wellington Times reported.

Mullahs in Afghanistan are trying to prevent health and economic problems in the country by promoting birth control.

It is hoped that by distributing birth control pills, maternal mortality rates will be lowered.

Health experts have said that contraception is starting to be increasingly adopted in the country, which has the second highest maternal death rate in the world.

Doctors have warned pregnant women that they should not ignore dental problems.

The alert was given following the case of a women with the common gum disease gingivitis that delivered a stillborn baby at 39 weeks.

Bacteria found in the baby's bloodstream, lungs and stomach were traced back to oral problems in the mother's mouth by microbiologist Yiping Han.

Mothers that smoke during pregnancy could put their children at risk of developing psychotic symptoms later in life, according to British scientists.

Research carried out by four British universities found that around 19 per cent of children with psychotic-like symptoms had mothers who smoked during pregnancy, the Edmonton Journal reported.

Mothers that binge drink in the first three months of pregnancy could cause their child to suffer from a debilitating and potentially fatal syndrome.

At least 900 children in Scotland currently live with the syndrome due to their mothers' drinking during pregnancy, a new study has found.

Babies' mental development can be improved by parent's nurturing, according to two studies.

Care given after birth can help to counteract the impact of stress hormone cortisol on a developing foetus, a study carried out by the University of Rochester Medical Centre, UK, found.

Babies born to mothers who have taken methadone during pregnancy develop a range of visual problems, according to a new study.

Medical experts at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill and Princess Royal Maternity, Scotland, discovered that mothers of all 20 infants that were referred to a specialist clinic due to vision defects had taken opiates during pregnancy.