Birth Weight News and Research

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Noninvasive test can reduce feeding-related complications among premature infants

Tufts Medical Center researchers have shown that presence of a gene strongly linked to appetite regulation is highly predictive of a premature infant's readiness to feed orally. An analysis of just a drop of an infant's saliva could be the key to preventing many feeding problems and the expensive medical complications that can occur when infants are fed by mouth too early.

22 May 2012

New knowledge related to host-parasite interaction in severe malaria

Researchers from Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, the University of Copenhagen and the University of Edinburgh have uncovered new knowledge related to host-parasite interaction in severe malaria, concerning how malaria parasites are able to bind to cells in the brain and cause cerebral malaria - the most lethal form of the disease.

22 May 2012

Strong link between birth weight and glucose metabolism in old age

Small babies had significantly higher blood glucose and insulin levels and a higher risk of diabetes at the age of 75 and older. The risk of diabetes in old age was five-fold among those born small but who were obese in midlife compared to those with higher birth weight and low body mass index in adulthood.

21 May 2012

Dual prevalence of STIs/RTIs and malaria in pregnancy found among women in sub-Saharan Africa

A review of studies reporting estimates of the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections/reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs) and malaria over the past 20 years suggests that a considerable burden of malaria and STIs/RTIs exists among pregnant women attending antenatal (before birth) facilities in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies published in the May 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Global Health.

16 May 2012

Micronutrients, early food supplementation during pregnancy improve survival of newborns

Pregnant women in poor communities in Bangladesh who received multiple micronutrients, including iron and folic acid combined with early food supplementation, had substantially improved survival of their newborns, compared to women in a standard program that included usual food supplementation, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Global Health.

16 May 2012

Citywide ban on public smoking can impact maternal and fetal health

A citywide ban on public smoking in Colorado led to significant decreases in maternal smoking and preterm births, providing the first evidence in the U.S. that such interventions can impact maternal and fetal health, according to an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

11 May 2012

Caffeine consumption: How much is too much?

Chocolate, coffee and cola are perhaps three of your favourite consumables; however, they are also three caffeine-rich substances which all contribute to your daily caffeine consumption. According to the BBC, people should not exceed 400mg caffeine a day, and this limit halves for pregnant women, for which only 200mg/day is recommended.

10 May 2012

Hypothalamic neuropeptide changes cause obesity in low-birth-weight babies

It seems improbable that a baby born underweight would be prone to obesity, but it is well documented that these children tend to put on weight in youth if they're allowed free access to calories. Now, researchers believe they understand why this happens.

3 May 2012

Lower rate of reintubation observed in infants receiving SURFAXIN

Discovery Laboratories, Inc. today announced the presentation of a new pharmacoeconomic analysis demonstrating that the lower rate of reintubation previously reported in infants treated with SURFAXIN, when compared with infants treated with Curosurf® and Survanta®, the current global market leading surfactants, also resulted in a potential hospital cost savings of $160,000 to $252,000 per 100 infants.

2 May 2012

NIH study indicates safety of anti-HIV drug tenofovir during pregnancy

Infants born to women who used the anti-HIV drug tenofovir as part of an anti-HIV drug regimen during pregnancy do not weigh less at birth and are not of shorter length than infants born to women who used anti-HIV drug regimens that do not include tenofovir during pregnancy, according to findings from a National Institutes of Health network study.

2 May 2012

Study: Incidence of fetal growth restriction is lower in obese women

Obesity during pregnancy puts women at higher risk of a multitude of challenges. But, according to a new study presented earlier this month at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine annual convention, fetal growth restriction, or the poor growth of a baby while in the mother's womb, is not one of them. In fact, study authors from the University of Rochester Medical Center found that the incidence of fetal growth restriction was lower in obese women when compared to non-obese women.

30 Apr 2012

Fatter children more likely to develop cardiometabolic disease, hypertension

A new study from presented at the European Society of Hypertension conference in London shows that children who show greater adiposity (fatness) in early life are at a substantially increased risk for hypertension and cardiometabolic problems in later life.

26 Apr 2012

Magnet hospitals can save lives of very low birth weight infants

Choosing the right hospital may make the difference between life and death for very low birth weight infants, according to research led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and released today in JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association.

25 Apr 2012

Study finds better outcomes in VLBW infants born at RNE hospitals

In a study that included more than 72,000 very low-birth-weight infants, among those born in hospitals with recognition for nursing excellence (RNE), compared with non-RNE hospitals, there was a significantly lower rate of hospital infection, death at 7-days and severe intraventricular hemorrhage but not lower rates of death at 28-days or hospital stay mortality, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA.

24 Apr 2012

Chinese scientists make significant breakthrough in animal cloning

Chinese scientists from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, together with the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Shihezi University, Xinjiang province, made a significant breakthrough in animal cloning.

20 Apr 2012

Childhood obesity positively associated with HCC in adulthood

Childhood obesity is a widespread global epidemic and in parallel with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the leading cause of liver disease among children. New data presented today at the International Liver Congress- 2012 furthers this concern by showing that childhood obesity is positively linked with developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) - the most common form of liver cancer - in adulthood.

19 Apr 2012

New research unable to find either positive or negative impact of WIC on infant health

Existing scientific literature suggests the U.S. government nutritional program known as WIC improves birth outcomes of children, but new research is unable to find either a positive or negative impact on infant health.

18 Apr 2012

Excessive gestational weight gain as problematic as pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity

One out of every two women of reproductive age is overweight or obese. Researchers from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute, from the University of Ottawa (faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences) and from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute set out to discover if overweight or obese women are in fact more likely to give birth to above average weight babies, as reported in the Journal of Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.

18 Apr 2012

Innate patient factors, overall morbidity affect neurodevelopment in infants with single-ventricle disease

In the largest multicenter clinical trial of children undergoing early-stage surgery for single-ventricle heart defects, differences in intraoperative management did not significantly affect neurodevelopmental outcomes at 14 months of age. Instead, the strongest influences were innate patient characteristics and general medical morbidity during the child's first year of life.

6 Apr 2012

Moderate caloric intake may reduce risk of obesity in low-birth weight offspring

Babies who are born small have a tendency to put on weight during childhood and adolescence if allowed free access to calories. However, a new animal model study at UCLA found when small babies were placed on a diet of moderately regulated calories during infancy, the propensity of becoming obese decreased.

3 Apr 2012