Birth Weight News and Research

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Teen birth rate at a seven decade low: Report

Figures reveal that fewer teenagers are giving birth and the numbers are a seventy year low. Reasons are not specified but two decades of public-health initiatives to curb teenage pregnancy may be paying off feel experts. Report co author Brady Hamilton, a statistician at CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics said, “One of the biggest highlights is the continuing decline in teen births -- down to record lows.”

22 Dec 2010

GE Healthcare announces global partnership with Embrace to distribute low-cost infant warmer

GE Healthcare today announced a global partnership with Embrace to distribute a low-cost infant warmer that looks like a small sleeping bag and can help keep an infant warm for hours. This product will be distributed in India initially to improve rural infant care as an alternative to more expensive warmers.

17 Dec 2010

Discovery Labs awarded NIH Fast Track SBIR grant for developing aerosolized KL4 surfactant for RDS

Discovery Laboratories, Inc. today announced that the Company has been awarded Phase I of a Fast Track Small Business Innovation Research Grant (SBIR) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the development of the Company's program for aerosolizing KL4 surfactant for neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

16 Dec 2010

Opinions: Kangaroo care; NTDs, Women's health

New York Times contributing writer Tina Rosen, on the newspaper's "Opinionator" blog, examines the success of a system known as kangaroo care, which has helped to improve the survival rates of premature infants by using skin-to-skin contact with mothers in place of incubators in low-resource settings. The post notes the potential value of such a strategy in poor countries "where pregnant women are unlikely to get the food and care they need," and "low birth weight babies are very common."

16 Dec 2010

Exposure to tobacco smoke causes immediate damage leading to serious illness or death

Exposure to tobacco smoke - even occasional smoking or secondhand smoke - causes immediate damage to your body that can lead to serious illness or death, according to a report released today by U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin. The comprehensive scientific report - Benjamin's first Surgeon General's report and the 30th tobacco-related Surgeon General's report issued since 1964 - describes specific pathways by which tobacco smoke damages the human body and leads to disease and death.

10 Dec 2010

AJPH publishes study on importance of preventive dental treatment for pregnant women

Aetna today announced that the study, An Examination of Periodontal Treatment, Dental Care and Pregnancy Outcomes in an Insured Population, has been published online by the American Journal of Public Health.

9 Dec 2010

Adverse birth outcomes partially explain epilepsy mortality

A higher rate of mortality is known to be associated with epilepsy, but the precise contribution of the underlying health factors is unknown. The results from the study of a large cohort of people born in Denmark in 1977 through 2006 were reported today at the American Epilepsy Society meeting here.

7 Dec 2010

Dartmouth awarded $2M grant for new Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Center

Dartmouth recently received a $2 million pilot grant to fund the new Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Center at Dartmouth. The grant is jointly funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Dartmouth's is one of six emerging centers nationally that are undertaking interdisciplinary research to assist public health professionals and policy makers in combating children's diseases caused by environment pollutants.

7 Dec 2010

Most low birth weight survivors grow up to become productive adults

Most survivors of extremely low birth weight grow up to become productive adults, according to a study led by a Michigan State University economist.

2 Dec 2010

New findings on folic acid supplementation reveal causes of low birth weight

Groundbreaking work by a team of UK scientists has identified, for the first time, a link between changes in the DNA of newborn babies, folic acid supplementation during pregnancy, and birth weight.

1 Dec 2010

Late-preterm babies at increased risk for cognitive, emotional problems

Late-preterm babies - those born between 34 and 36 weeks - are at an increased risk for cognitive and emotional problems, regardless of maternal IQ or demographics, according to new research published by Michigan State University researchers in the current edition of the journal Pediatrics.

23 Nov 2010

Pre-term births are leading cause of health problems in infants and cost the U.S. over $26 billion annually

The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) based at the University of Michigan today released its Prematurity Issue Brief that shows pre-term births --- births at less than 37 weeks of gestation --- are the leading cause of health problems in infants and estimated to cost the U.S. more than $26 billion annually. In addition, the report shows that a black infant in Michigan is 70% more likely to be born prematurely than an infant of any other race.

17 Nov 2010

Mutual accountability on women's and children's health goals essential to Millennium Development Goal success

This year, governments, foundations, businesses, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations and health care professional associations publicly pledged more than $ 40 billion* to improve maternal and child health and save million of lives.

12 Nov 2010

Mother's poor nutrition during pregnancy affects offspring's ability to process medications

New research has found that a mother's poor nutrition during pregnancy and nursing can cause problems for her offspring's ability to process medications, even well into adulthood.

11 Nov 2010

Strong smoke-free policies reduce maternal smoking and improve fetal outcomes

New research released today takes a look at birth outcomes and maternal smoking, building urgency for more states and cities to join the nationwide smoke-free trend that has accelerated in recent years. According to the new data, strong smoke-free policies can improve fetal outcomes by significantly reducing the prevalence of maternal smoking.

9 Nov 2010

South Dakota passes strong smoke-free law

The people of South Dakota delivered a historic victory for health and the right to breathe clean air by overwhelmingly approving Referred Question 12 that makes almost all workplaces, including restaurants, bars and gaming facilities, smoke-free. With bipartisan support, South Dakota is the 29th state to pass a strong smoke-free law that includes all restaurants and bars.

3 Nov 2010

Low birth weight linked to poor growth in children with CKD

The lower the birth weight, the greater the chance of poor growth rate in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a new study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

29 Oct 2010

NMA/NBNA releases new consensus report on RSV

Today, the National Medical Association (NMA) and the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) released a consensus report on RSV. Concerned that recent clinical guidelines published by the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee of Infectious Disease (AAP/COID) may leave some infants unprotected from RSV, the NMA/NBNA RSV Consensus Panel recommended that additional research be conducted to ensure that physicians provide the maximum protection to infants and children at risk of RSV.

28 Oct 2010

Calif. budget comes in the nick of time for health centers; LA. Gov. announces cuts in health care funding

With some California community health centers just weeks or days away from laying off staff or reducing their hours, the state adopted its latest-ever annual budget on Oct. 8.

26 Oct 2010

CRN reinforces importance of DHA before, during and after pregnancy

In response to a study regarding fish oil use during pregnancy published in the October 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement industry, reminds pregnant and lactating women of the undisputed importance of consuming the recommended amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) throughout pregnancy.

20 Oct 2010