Too few U.S doctors are telling pregnant women about steps they can take to avoid a virus that causes serious birth defects in thousands of babies each year, U.S. health officials said .

Pregnant women are receiving more high-tech imaging exams, exposing their babies to higher doses of radiation than a decade ago, a study said on Tuesday.

Pregnant women who occasionally overindulge in a night of drinking may not be harming their fetuses but more evidence is needed, researchers said.

Pregnant women, babies and toddlers would join doctors, emergency workers and soldiers at the head of the line for scarce vaccine if a super-strain of flu triggers the next pandemic, says a draft government plan to be released Tuesday.

Two new studies are offering mixed signals about the long-term safety of repeatedly giving pregnant women steroid drugs intended to prevent complications once a premature delivery seems likely.

Obese pregnant women may have an increased risk of losing their baby relatively late in pregnancy, and black women appear particularly at risk, a large study suggests.

More than one in 10 pregnant women smoke, and new research suggests many of them also may suffer from depression, making kicking the habit even harder.