The placenta never fails to amaze. The conventions that we take for granted as required for the normal formation and function of other organs are often flouted by placental trophoblasts, the ...

During human pregnancy, the maternal immune system develops and changes, providing protection for the growing placenta and fetus. These protective changes provide mechanisms allowing two genetically ...

If the development of blood vessels in the placenta is impaired, fetal growth retardation may result. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Mannheim Medical Faculty of ...

For most people, the placenta is simply viewed as a temporary organ that supports a baby during pregnancy and is discarded after delivery. However, modern medicine has begun to recognize that the ...

When you think about it, pregnancy is amazing; it’s a miracle how your body was formed in order to support the life that’s growing inside you. And in this process, there’s an organ that is vital in ...

Gestational diabetes can cause a multitude of complications in the offspring, but to date, the reasons are incompletely understood. A new study, exploring a foundational step in the process of ...

Wallabies are kicking over scientific conventions surrounding mammalian placentas, the organ responsible for protecting and nourishing a developing fetus. A study1 finds that contrary to what ...

As a young woman who has never given birth or even seen a placenta, I admit it's strange that I'm so fascinated with them. And fascinated I am — I literally love to read about them and hear personal ...

After giving birth, some women save the placenta in order to consume it in the following weeks. In fact, Texas just passed a law giving women the right to take the placenta home from the hospital, the ...

The processes involved in placental development are highly regulated to ensure normal growth of the developing fetal tissues and the maintenance of a healthy pregnancy. A unique function of the ...