Category Archives: Premature Birth
Withdrawal of Treatment Top Cause of Death in NICU
According to UPI, the primary cause of infant death in a neonatal intensive care unit is withdrawing support and withholding lifesaving measures, say U.S. researchers. Dr. Julie Weiner of Children’s Mercy Hospital and colleagues examined medical records of 414 infants who died from January 1999 to December 2008 at a regional neonatal intensive care unit. The study found that most U.S. childhood deaths occur during the neonatal period and most neonatal deaths are caused by a decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining measures. Of the 414 infant deaths studied, 45 percent were due to major birth defects. Seventeen percent of these infants were very preterm and 35 percent of deaths were of very preterm births without congenital birth defects or brain injury, said the study. The study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that during the 10-year period, 61.6 percent of infant deaths followed withdrawal of…
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Flu Vaccine May Reduce Premature Birth Risk
According to WebMD, pregnant women who get a flu vaccine are less likely to have low birth weight babies and reduced risk of premature birth. A new study has shown that women who receive a flu vaccine during pregnancy were less likely to have a premature birth than unvaccinated mothers. The study found that influenza and pneumonia increase the risk of premature birth and low birth weight. Vaccinations during pregnancy protect the mother and the infant from the most common viruses that cause respiratory infections. The study, published in PLoS Medicine, looked at the relationship between flu vaccination and the risk of premature birth before 37 weeks gestation and babies born small for gestational age. Researchers studies 4,168 women who gave birth between 2004 and 2006. The study found that vaccinated mothers were 40% less likely to have a premature birth. During the eight weeks of the most widespread flu…
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Premature Birth May Be Linked to Family History
According to MSNBC, premature birth may run in families. Tammy George was a small baby even before her mother went into labor 11 weeks early. The doctors worried she was not receiving enough nutrition in the womb. In the delivery room, Tammy weighed less than a loaf of bread. In the 1970s, a premature baby that small, 1 pound, 8 ounces, had very slim chances of survival. According to new studies, genetic links suggest that there may be a link between premature births and family history. Tammy spent two months in the hospital before being released. As an adult, she found herself giving birth via c-section to her premature baby, Hannah, after her water broke 28 weeks into pregnancy. Tammy was told her baby would have 80 percent chance of survival and possible developmental problems. A study of 14,000 UK women found that being born prematurely increased a woman’s chance…
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