International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Putting on weight during pregnancy can result in an increased risk of heart disease for the child, researchers have found.

According to a study conducted by the Medical Research Council's centre at Bristol University, women who put on the most weight during gestation had children with less healthy hearts at the age of nine, reports the Daily Mail.

A poll conducted in Canada has revealed that the majority of people in the country oppose their prime minister's decision not to fund safer abortions in developing countries.

Some 58 per cent of respondents in the Canadian Press-Harris Decima survey said that Stephen Harper should not exclude abortion funding in his drive to improve maternal and infant health in developing nations.

The World Bank has released a new five-year plan aimed at helping developing countries to reduce their maternal and infant mortality rates.

Called the Reproductive Health Action Plan, it hopes to improve family planning, by providing access to contraceptives and better sex education, in 58 countries worldwide too.

The maternal mortality rate in Peru has dropped by almost 50 per cent, it has been reported.

Peru's health minister, Oscar Urgate, told the news agency Andina that between 2000 and 2008 the rate fell from 185 deaths per 1,000 live births to 103, reports the Latin American Herald Tribune.

New research has found that pregnant women are not getting enough vitamin D, which puts their babies at risk.

Vitamin D levels are raised for mothers-to-be by them taking pre-natal vitamin supplements but higher levels are needed, according to the study conducted by the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, US.

Preventable infectious diseases caused the deaths of two-thirds of children worldwide in 2008, a new study has shown.

Data from 193 countries around the world was studied by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF's Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG) to provide the estimated infant mortality rates, according to country, region and the world.

According to a new study, 94 per cent of mothers that breastfeed do not follow a proper diet during nursing.

The mothers did not consume the recommended daily intake of fat, vitamins A and E and iron during breastfeeding, the study conducted by the University of Granada in Spain found.

The maternal mortality rates in developing countries are still too high, according to a new report.

Despite death rates dropping by 30 per cent from 12.5 million in 1990 to 8.8 million in 2008, more still needs to be done to reduce the rates further, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which directs and is the co-ordinating health authority within the United Nations.

The key to reducing newborn mortality rates is providing better baby care, it has been claimed.

According to the United Nations (UN) health agency, death rates could be improved in developing countries if better care was provided for babies during the first month of their lives.

Premature babies are more sensitive to pain later in life than those born on time, according to new study.

Researchers from the University College Hospital in London said that the weeks premature babies spend in hospital after birth undergoing painful medical procedures could leave a damaging impression on their brains, reports the Daily Mail.