Another Possible Effect of Climate Change: More Preemie Babies

MONDAY, Dec. 2, 2019 -- Rising temperatures might help trigger premature birth, a new study finds, suggesting that global warming could deliver more "preemie" babies.

Looking at 20 years of data on heat waves and birth timing across the United States, researchers "estimate that an average of 25,000 infants per year were born earlier as a result of heat exposure."

Twins Are Becoming Less Common in U.S., for Good Reasons

THURSDAY, OCT. 3, 2019 -- No, you're not seeing double as often these days: After decades of rising, twin births are declining in the United States.

Twin birth rates had been on the rise for 30 years, but dropped 4% between 2014 and 2018, health officials said in a new U.S. government study. That's the lowest level in more than a decade. In 2018, there were 32.6 twins for every 1,000 U.S. births.

Chlamydia Can Harm Male Fertility

TUESDAY, Oct. 15, 2019 -- Undiagnosed chlamydia infection can harm male fertility, a new study suggests.

"Chlamydia infection has been associated with women's infertility but much less is known about its impact on male infertility, particularly if men do not experience symptoms, which is estimated to be in about 50% of cases," said study leader Ken Beagley, a professor of immunology at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

Frequent Male Pot Use Linked to Early Miscarriages

MONDAY, Oct. 14, 2019 -- Men who use marijuana at least once a week are twice as likely to see their partner's pregnancy end in miscarriage, compared to those who use no pot, new research suggests.

Miscarriages related to frequent male pot use tended to occur within eight weeks of conception, which bolsters suspicions that marijuana use damages sperm in some essential way, said lead researcher Alyssa Harlow, a doctoral student at the Boston University School of Public Health.