Dr Geoffrey Brieger

06/11/2025

Scientists discovered something surprising about pregnancy and the brain. A 2017 study in Nature Neuroscience showed that during pregnancy, women lose some grey matter in certain parts of the brain.
These areas help with understanding feelings, reading faces, and noticing social cues. At first this sounds negative, but it may actually be the opposite.
The scientists found that this change did not make mothers weaker. It may make their brains work more efficiently.

Instead of losing ability, the brain becomes more focused.

Mothers may become better at reading their baby's needs, emotions, and signals. This can support bonding and early parent-child connection.
The study followed first-time mothers and fathers. MRI scans were taken before pregnancy and after birth. The fathers' brains stayed the same, but the mothers showed clear changes in gray matter. Researchers explained that "loss of volume does not mean loss of function." One scientist compared it to spring cleaning, when the brain removes what is not needed so communication between neurons becomes stronger.

Some parts of the brain may return to normal size after months, but scientists are still learning if all changes are temporary or long-term.
Pregnancy does not only change the body. It also reshapes the brain to help mothers connect, understand, and care for their babies.

22/10/2025

Melbourne scientists discover breastfeeding protects against breast cancer

For decades, doctors have known women who breastfeed are less likely to develop breast cancer. Now researchers have uncovered why.

18/10/2025

How interesting; the history of the “Apgar” score at delivery which gets tested at 1 minute and then 5 minutes after birth

In 1952, inside a New York City delivery room, a baby was born blue and silent. Doctors hesitated, unsure whether to keep trying. Then a calm voice broke through the panic.
“Let’s score the baby,” said Dr. Virginia Apgar.

That moment changed medicine forever.

Apgar had once dreamed of being a surgeon, but in the 1940s few women were allowed into the operating room. Told that no hospital would hire her, she turned to anesthesiology instead — a decision that would save millions of lives.

Working in Columbia-Presbyterian’s maternity ward, she saw newborns die within minutes of birth because doctors had no system to judge which babies needed help first. So one morning in 1952, she grabbed a pen and paper and designed a five-point test measuring heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflex response, and skin color. She called it the Apgar Score.

The idea spread faster than anyone expected. Within a decade, almost every hospital in America was using it. Infant mortality fell sharply. Doctors finally had a language for newborn care — and babies once thought lost were suddenly being saved.

Apgar never stopped pushing forward. She earned a public health degree, joined the March of Dimes, and became a global voice for mothers and infants. When asked how she had thrived in a man’s world, she laughed, “Women are like tea bags — they don’t know how strong they are until they’re in hot water.”

Dr. Virginia Apgar passed away in 1974, but her test still guides every delivery room on Earth. Every two seconds, somewhere in the world, a baby takes its first breath — and someone quietly calls out a number that honors the woman who refused to give up on newborns or on herself.

25/09/2025

Paracetamol use in Pregnancy - Department of Health, Disabilities and Ageing
23 September 2025

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer and the TGA join with other global medicines regulators, leading clinicians and scientists worldwide in rejecting claims regarding the use of paracetamol in pregnancy, and the subsequent risk of development of ADHD or autism in children.

Robust scientific evidence shows no causal link between the use of paracetamol in pregnancy and autism or ADHD, with several large and reliable studies directly contradicting these claims.

Paracetamol remains the recommended treatment option for pain or fever in pregnant women when used as directed. Importantly, untreated fever and pain can pose risks to the unborn baby, highlighting the importance of managing these symptoms with recommended treatment.

Pregnant women should speak to their healthcare professionals if they have questions about any medication during pregnancy.Paracetamol remains pregnancy category A in Australia, meaning that it is considered safe for use in pregnancy when used according to directions in TGA-approved Product Information (PI) and Consumer Medicines Information (CMI) documents.This means that a medicine has been taken by a large number of pregnant women and women of childbearing age without any proven increase in the frequency of malformations or other harmful effects on the fetus having been observed.

As with the use of any medicine during pregnancy, people who are pregnant should seek medical advice tailored to their specific circumstances before taking paracetamol.The TGA is responsible for ensuring the safety, quality and efficacy of medicines on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), with safety in pregnancy a key consideration for all products on the ARTG.

The TGA undertakes evaluation of clinical, scientific and toxicological data prior to registration of a medicine, and this information is summarised in TGA-approved PI and CMI documents, targeted at healthcare professionals and consumers respectively, to help support safe use of a medicine in the community. These documents include information relating to use of a medicine in pregnancy.The TGA is aware of announcements by the US Administration that use of paracetamol in pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of autism and ADHD in children, though a causal association has not been established.

TGA advice on medicines in pregnancy is based on rigorous assessment of the best available scientific evidence. Any new evidence that could affect our recommendations would be carefully evaluated by our independent scientific experts.

Whilst there are published articles suggesting an association between maternal paracetamol use and childhood autism, they had methodological limitations. More recent and robust studies have refuted these claims, supporting the weight of other scientific evidence that does not support a causal link between paracetamol and autism or ADHD.

The TGA maintains robust post-market safety surveillance and pharmacovigilance processes for all medicines registered in Australia, including paracetamol. This includes detailed analysis of adverse event reports made by medicine consumers, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies, review of published medical literature, and close liaison with international medicines regulators.

If a safety issue is confirmed prompt regulatory action is taken to mitigate risks.International peer regulators including the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom have reiterated that paracetamol should continue to be used in line with product information documents. Following evaluation in 2019 the European Medicines Agency (EMA) found that scientific evidence regarding effects of paracetamol on childhood neurodevelopment was inconclusive.

People who have concerns and are pregnant, or considering pregnancy, are advised to consult their healthcare professionals in the first instance to discuss this issue.

11/09/2025

According to Science Advances (Pontzer et al., 2019), Duke University Global Health Institute, scientists found that CARRYING A BABY REQUIRES 2.2 TIMES MORE ENERGY THAN RUNNING A MARATHON EVERY DAY FOR NINE MONTHS!

A pregnant body is pushed to its absolute metabolic limit - more than most extreme athletes competing in an endurance event.

Pregnancy is truly amazing

15/08/2025

Popular at-home fetal monitors linked to stillbirths, newborn deaths

By Kate Aubusson- Sydney Morning Hearld
August 15, 2025

Australia’s medical device watchdog is warning pregnant women against using popular portable fetal heart monitors, after the devices were implicated in six stillbirths and newborn deaths since 2022.

The most recent death was reported to the Threaparuic Goods Administration on Tuesday, a spokesperson said.

The sale of handheld fetal heart monitors – also known as portable fetal dopplers – was banned in Australia in September 2024 after a TGA review confirmed the devices were “falsely reassuring” pregnant women that their distressed unborn babies had healthy heartbeats, leading to delays in seeking medical attention and death.

But retailers have continued to sell the popular, though illegal, devices to would-be Australian parents.

“[W]e are aware of devices being sold illegally through online platforms,” the TGA said in a statement, adding: “There are no home-use [fetal] dopplers approved for supply in Australia by the TGA.”

People who use the devices without specialised training can easily mistake the sounds of the mother’s blood flow or the placenta as a fetal heartbeat, providing potentially inaccurate reassurance, obstetricians and midwives have warned.

“Using a home-use [fetal] heart monitor to check a baby’s heartbeat may seem reassuring, but it can be dangerously misleading,” the TGA’s alert read.

There have also been cases where parents could not find a fetal heartbeat using the devices, causing unnecessary panic, the TGA said.

A Google search for fetal monitors returns dozens of hits for portable dopplers for sale, including several Australian-based retailers, potentially attracting criminal and civil penalties.

The at-home devices drew worldwide scrutiny in 2009 after two UK anaesthetists raised the alarm in an article in the British Medical Journal, detailing the case of a 34-year-old woman who was 38 weeks pregnant when she noticed a decrease in fetal movements.

The woman reassured herself that the baby was OK by using her doppler to listen to what she thought was the fetal heartbeat over the next two days.

When she presented to her maternity ward on the third day an urgent ultrasound showed the baby had died.

“We assume the patient had been listening to her own pulse or placental flow,” the anaesthetists wrote.

They mentioned another case of “false reassurance” due to an at-home fetal heart monitor where a baby survived but needed a long stay in a neonatal intensive care unit and acquired serious neurological problems.

“If you are concerned about your unborn baby’s wellbeing, seek immediate attention from your midwife or doctor,” The TGA alert read. “DO NOT rely on home-use fetal heart monitors to check your baby’s heartbeat.”

30/07/2025

Geoff has been appointed Deputy President of The Medical Council of NSW. The Medical Council is a Government regulatory body that protects the health and safety of the public by ensuring that registered medical practitioners in NSW are fit to practice. As well as happily continuing his work as an obstetrician, Dr Brieger has chosen to also fulfil this new role.

29/07/2025

I am thrilled to know one of my 2003 babies is now enjoying placement in the Special Care Nursery at The Mater.

Good luck with your future studies Holly!

28/07/2025

Dear Dr. Brieger, Cathy and Team,

I wanted to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for the exceptional care and expertise you provided during the delivery of our baby boy, Parker, this day last week.

Your calm guidance, professionalism, and support made what could have been a stressful experience feel safe and reassuring. We're overjoyed with our new addition to the family.

Thank you once again for everything you've done. Dr Brieger we truly appreciate your dedication to your patients.

Best regards

Sarah and Sean

22/07/2025

MEDIA RELEASE Women and Babies at Greater Risk - and it Costs More: NASOG's (National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) long standing Warnings Now Backed by National Study

A groundbreaking Australian study has confirmed what many have long feared: public maternity care not only delivers poorer outcomes for women and babies—it also costs the health system significantly more.Recently published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the study by Professo...