Pregnancy | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/pregnancy/RSS feed for PregnancyenTue, 19 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000Want to Avoid Having a Picky Eater? Start Exposing Your Kids to Veggies Super Early—in the Wombhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/want-to-avoid-having-a-picky-eater-start-exposing-your-kids-to-veggies-super-early-in-the-womb-180988750/In a new study, 3-year-olds who were repeatedly exposed to the taste of bitter kale as fetuses appeared to be less averse to the leafy greens' scent than they were to a food smell they hadn't experienced in uteroTue, 19 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/want-to-avoid-having-a-picky-eater-start-exposing-your-kids-to-veggies-super-early-in-the-womb-180988750/Fetuses Can 'Catch' Yawns From Their Mothers While Still in the Womb, New Research Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fetuses-can-catch-yawns-from-their-mothers-while-still-in-the-womb-new-research-suggests-180988735/Yawning is considered a social behavior. Although fetuses were known to yawn, scientists weren't sure if it was a self-contained reflex or if they could somehow detect cues from their momsThu, 14 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fetuses-can-catch-yawns-from-their-mothers-while-still-in-the-womb-new-research-suggests-180988735/Pregnancy Changes Mothers' Brains. These Recent Discoveries Are Showing Us Howhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/pregnancy-changes-mothers-brains-these-recent-discoveries-are-showing-us-how-180988713/“Baby brain” isn’t the deficit it’s stereotyped to be, research suggests. Neural adaptations during pregnancy can prime soon-to-be-moms to become more attuned to their children and enhance social cognitionSat, 09 May 2026 00:23:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/pregnancy-changes-mothers-brains-these-recent-discoveries-are-showing-us-how-180988713/This ‘Feisty’ Asian Elephant at the National Zoo Is Pregnant. She May Birth the First Calf Born There in Nearly 25 Yearshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-feisty-asian-elephant-at-the-national-zoo-is-pregnant-she-may-birth-the-first-calf-born-there-in-nearly-25-years-180987745/With fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants estimated to be remaining in the wild, the Smithsonian’s announcement gives hope to those working to preserve the endangered speciesMon, 24 Nov 2025 19:25:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-feisty-asian-elephant-at-the-national-zoo-is-pregnant-she-may-birth-the-first-calf-born-there-in-nearly-25-years-180987745/A Single Gene Could Have Contributed to Neanderthals' Extinction, Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-neanderthal-gene-variant-related-to-red-blood-cells-may-have-contributed-to-their-extinction-180987586/New research posits that a genetic incompatibility between female offspring of humans and Neanderthals and their children could have led to pregnancy complications and the eventual end of the speciesThu, 30 Oct 2025 20:47:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-neanderthal-gene-variant-related-to-red-blood-cells-may-have-contributed-to-their-extinction-180987586/Breastfeeding Has Long Been Linked to Reducing Cancer Risk. Scientists May Have Just Discovered Whyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/breastfeeding-has-long-been-linked-to-reducing-cancer-risk-scientists-may-have-just-discovered-why-180987567/Patients with a history of breastfeeding showed higher levels of specialized immune cells in their breasts that may protect against malignant cancersFri, 24 Oct 2025 19:46:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/breastfeeding-has-long-been-linked-to-reducing-cancer-risk-scientists-may-have-just-discovered-why-180987567/A Blood Test Can Now Predict a Mother's Risk of Postpartum Depressionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/a-blood-test-can-now-predict-a-mothers-risk-of-postpartum-depression-180987530/Scientists are learning more about this leading complication of childbirth, and treatments are improvingFri, 17 Oct 2025 13:39:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/a-blood-test-can-now-predict-a-mothers-risk-of-postpartum-depression-180987530/Scientists Made Functional Human Eggs With Skin Cells in 'Proof of Concept' for Advancing Fertilityhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-made-functional-human-eggs-with-skin-cells-in-proof-of-concept-for-advancing-fertility-180987430/The research could open up avenues for fertility treatments after additional refinement and trials, but it also raises ethical concernsThu, 09 Oct 2025 15:28:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-made-functional-human-eggs-with-skin-cells-in-proof-of-concept-for-advancing-fertility-180987430/These Bumpy Little Seahorses Are Amazing Camouflage Artists. Scientists Pinpoint the Gene Loss Behind Their Special Traitshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-bumpy-little-seahorses-are-amazing-camouflage-artists-scientists-pinpoint-the-gene-loss-behind-their-special-traits-180987274/Bargibant’s pygmy seahorses look almost exactly like the gorgonian corals they live in, thanks in part to their unusually stubby snoutsThu, 04 Sep 2025 15:36:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-bumpy-little-seahorses-are-amazing-camouflage-artists-scientists-pinpoint-the-gene-loss-behind-their-special-traits-180987274/See the First 3D Images of a Human Embryo Implanting, Shedding Light on the Crucial but Little-Known Processhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-first-3d-images-of-a-human-embryo-implanting-shedding-light-on-the-crucial-but-little-known-process-180987201/A new study shows how human embryos reshape their environment by pulling on uterine tissueTue, 19 Aug 2025 16:38:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-first-3d-images-of-a-human-embryo-implanting-shedding-light-on-the-crucial-but-little-known-process-180987201/