fetal development

(Newser) - Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed a bill into law Thursday making Indiana the second state to ban abortions because of fetal genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome. It's due to take effect in July, but Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky says it will ask a court to block...

(Newser) - The height and weight of a newborn baby is largely governed by his or her own genes, but it's the height of the mother that's giving researchers a telltale sign, reports the Telegraph . Specifically, shorter women have shorter pregnancies and thus more premature babies, report investigators at the...

(Newser) - Pregnant women have been told to avoid alcohol for decades, but a new study suggests that occasional drinking and even a binge now and then could be OK, ABC News reports. Researchers at Oxford University looked at 35 years of studies and found no consistent link between sporadic binge drinking...

(Newser) - Beginning in the womb, exposure to common substances increases the likelihood of numerous health problems—including cancer, ADD, Parkinson's and obesity—years and even generations later, international environmental scientists say. Two hundred prominent experts yesterday took the unusual step of calling for intervention by governments, even those that have downplayed...