Women whose weight gain during pregnancy meets the current recommendations are significantly more likely to have a 3-year-old who is overweight than those who gain less than the recommended amount, researchers report. Guidelines from the Institute of Medicine say that a woman with a normal body-mass index of 19. The 3-year-old children of mothers who gained more than recommended were also more likely to have higher systolic blood pressure . A majority of mothers in the study gained more weight than is recommended, but gaining less than the recommended amount was not associated with any negative outcome. read more

Any pregnant woman taking an antiepileptic drug can enroll in the North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry. The objective of the registry, established in 1997, is to get information on the frequency of birth defects - such as spina bifida, hearing loss and cleft lip - among babies whose mothers took antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy. Before the registry, that research was done only by the manufacturers of the antiepileptic drugs. As of March, 5,750 women had enrolled in the registry - but many more are eligible. Researchers would like women to enroll before the 16th week of their pregnancies, but they can enroll anytime during pregnancy. read more

Full rides at Stony Brook University await the Boniello sextuplets, from left, Stella, Sabrina, Trifon, Gerard, Olivia and Sophia. On Thursday, they celebrated their March 24 birthday on the campus of Stony Brook University, where they have been promised full-ride college scholarships. The six were born at the school’s University Hospital. Six personalized cakes were presented to Trifon Robert, Olivia Fredericka, Sabrina Juliet, Gerard Martin, Sophia Betty and Stella Raquel. Richard Fine, dean of the Stony Brook University Hospital School of Medicine. Acting as spokesman for his siblings, Trifon stood on tiptoes at a podium to address the media. read more