Summary
Reproductive medicine integrates the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting fertility, pregnancy and early life. It encompasses gynaecology, obstetrics, reproductive endocrinology and assisted reproductive technologies, from contraception and management of menstrual disorders to ovulation induction, in vitro fertilisation, preimplantation genetics and fertility preservation. Prenatal care employs molecular biomarkers, high-resolution imaging and non-invasive prenatal testing to monitor maternal and foetal health, while perinatal strategies aim to prevent complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and preterm birth. Advances in immunological understanding, epigenetics and the maternal microbiome are reshaping interventions to reduce obstetric morbidity and optimise neonatal outcomes. Multidisciplinary collaboration and personalised approaches underpin efforts to address declining fertility rates, ensure safe pregnancy journeys and support reproductive autonomy across diverse populations.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Studies in murine models of gestational diabetes mellitus have demonstrated that metabolic dysregulation impairs uterine natural killer cell function and alters the vaginal microbiota, promoting in utero invasion by group B Streptococcus and increasing neonatal sepsis risk. This work identifies host–pathogen interactions that could be targeted to strengthen maternal immune barriers. A digital spatiotemporal atlas of the human foetal brain, generated from over a thousand three-dimensional ultrasound scans between 14 and 31 weeks’ gestation, now provides normative trajectories of cortical folding and volumetric growth. Automated pipelines leveraging this atlas enable early detection of neurodevelopmental deviations. Complementing this resource, deep-learning models trained on extensive, multi-ethnic ultrasound datasets have achieved human-level performance in measuring fetal biometry and amniotic fluid volume, streamlining routine scans and broadening access to high-quality assessment in low-resource settings.
Topic trend for the past 5 years
The graph below shows the article count in Nature Index journals for reproductive medicine.
* The ‘Current Index’ represents data for a 12-month rolling window, the current window is 1 May 2025 - 30 April 2026.
Technical terms
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM): glucose intolerance first identified during pregnancy that alters maternal metabolism and increases foetal and neonatal risks.
Preeclampsia: a hypertensive disorder arising after 20 weeks’ gestation characterised by high blood pressure and organ dysfunction, often linked to placental vascular factors.
Assisted reproductive technology (ART): medical procedures involving in vitro handling of gametes or embryos, including IVF and ICSI, to achieve pregnancy.
Uterine natural killer (uNK) cells: specialised immune cells in the pregnant uterus that support placental development and defence against infection.
Deep learning: computational methods using layered neural networks to automate complex image analysis tasks, such as ultrasound measurement.
Umbilical coiling index (UCI): a measure of the number of vascular twists in the cord per unit length, reflecting mechanical and haemodynamic properties.
Notable articles in reproductive medicine
- Gestational diabetes augments group B Streptococcus infection by disrupting maternal immunity and the vaginal microbiota. Nature Communications (2024).
- Normative spatiotemporal fetal brain maturation with satisfactory development at 2 years. Nature (2023).
- Fetal biometry and amniotic fluid volume assessment end-to-end automation using Deep Learning. Nature Communications (2023).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Research
Position of Reproductive Medicine in Nature Index by Count
Leading institutions
| Institution | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | 50 | 14.36 |
| Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) | 19 | 8.75 |
| The University of Melbourne (UniMelb) | 20 | 6.83 |
| IVIRMA Global | 14 | 6.02 |
| University of Cambridge | 16 | 5.9 |
| Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) | 14 | 5.85 |
| Monash University | 23 | 5.83 |
| University of Toronto (U of T) | 20 | 5.67 |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | 20 | 5.66 |
| University of Copenhagen (UCPH) | 27 | 5.52 |
Collaboration
Top 5 leading collaborators in Reproductive Medicine
Collaborating institutions
Note: Hover over the bars to view details about each institution's Share.
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