Childbirth

Little-Known Cause Of Preterm Births Alarms Experts

ruzik_tuzik — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:37:45 -0600

March of Dimes gave Tennessee a grade of "F" for its rate of preterm birth, which stands at 14.7 percent, the fifth worst rate in the nation. An expert at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt says that premature births are most often illustrated by depicting the tiniest of babies, however the public may not realize that babies born just slightly less than full-term are actually the cause of greatest concern right now.

Biomass Plant Might Exacerbate High Infant Mortality Rate

ruzik_tuzik — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:07:38 -0600

A "biomass plant should not be built" in Leon County, Fla., Edward Holifield, a retired Tallahassee physician writes in a Tallahassee Democrat opinion piece. The Florida Department of Health has "documented conclusively that black infants in Leon County are dying at Third World levels" and "the environmental poisons in Leon County are concentrated on the south side of town, which houses the greatest concentration of the blacks and the poor," Holifield writes.

New Mexico Responds To Premature Birth Report Card

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:35:46 -0600

In response to the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card issued today, Health Secretary Dr. Alfredo Vigil said the State will continue to support programs that encourage healthy births and children. New Mexico received a D for the report card, which measured states on one factor – number of pre-term births in 2005.

New Mexico's pre-term birth rate was 11 percent of live births in 2005 and 11.2 percent in 2006, according to the Department of Health's Vital Records and Health Statistics Bureau. The state's late pre-term birth rate (34 to 36 weeks gestation) was 7.8 percent in 2006.

Maryland Works To Prevent Premature Births

ruzik_tuzik — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:29:19 -0600

Today has been declared "Prematurity Awareness Day" by the March of Dimes, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is "improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality", said the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH).

On the heels of an October forum where health care leaders met to study ways to cut Maryland's infant mortality rate, DHMH officials are actively working to stem the number of premature births in the state.

Assisted Reproductive Technology Associated With Increased Risk Of Birth Defects

ruzik_tuzik — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:32:33 -0600

Infants conceived with Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) are two to four times more likely to have certain types of birth defects than children conceived naturally, according to a study by the CDC. The report, “Assisted Reproductive Technology and Major Structural Birth Defects, United States,” was released in the journal Human Reproduction.

Infants' Mylicon Gas Relief Dye Free Drops Recalled

ruzik_tuzik — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:55:10 -0600

Johnson & Johnson • Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals Company (JJMCP) is voluntarily recalling approximately 12,000 units of Infants' MYLICON GAS RELIEF DYE FREE drops (simethicone-antigas) non-staining sold in 1 oz. plastic bottles that were distributed after October 5, 2008 nationwide. The company is taking this action in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Report Card Gives US D Grade For Preterm Birth Rate

ruzik_tuzik — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:48:23 -0600

The March of Dimes in its first state-by-state "Premature Birth Report Card" graded the U.S. a "D" overall, USA Today reports. According to the report card, which was released on Wednesday, the U.S. preterm birth rate was 12.7% in 2005, compared with 11% in 1995. Vermont had the lowest rate of preterm babies at 9%, while Mississippi had the highest rate with 18.8% of babies born preterm. No state received an "A" grade, which required a preterm birth rate of 7.6% or less -- the government's "Healthy People 2010" goal (Rubin, USA Today, 11/12).

Maternal Mental Health Is Linked To Being Stillborn

hareyan — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:22:34 -0600

Mental health of a pregnant mother can have an effect during childbirth. Women with a history of mental illness are at higher risk of having children that are stillborn or die within the first month of life.

Researchers at the Centre for Women’s Mental Health at The University of Manchester studied almost 1.5 million births in Denmark between 1973 and 1998, including 7,021 stillbirths.

The risk of stillbirth and newborn deaths from any cause was at least twice as high for mothers admitted with a serious psychiatric illness than for women with no such history.

Novel Transplant Eases Infant's Rare Genetic Disorder

ruzik_tuzik — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:27:10 -0600

Within hours of taking his first breath on Aug. 1, unknown to everyone around him, Destin Hamilton was getting sicker by the minute.

The newborn had a genetic defect creating a dangerously high ammonia level that typically leads to brain damage and often death.

Luckily for Destin, his doctors in Bristol, Tenn., recalled a lecture given by a group of Vanderbilt Medical Center geneticists about carbamyl phosphate synthetase deficiency (CPS-1), a urea cycle disorder.

First Non-Adhesive Pulse Oximetry Sensor For Extremely Low Birth Weight Babies Launched

ruzik_tuzik — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:02:42 -0600

Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, announced a new SofTouch disposable pulse oximetry sensor developed specifically for the fragile skin and size of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants (<500 grams-1,000 grams) in conjunction with the Neonatology 2008 conference in Miami, Florida. The new LNCS SofTouch NeoPt-500 sensor is exclusively designed to fit ELBW babies and features special soft foam and non-adhesive attachments to prevent injury to even the most sensitive skin of premature infants.