August 25, 2010
Filed under: Baby health, New Born, Premature babies — admin @ 8:59 pm
As part of the First Cut strand, showcasing, bold, bright and original documentaries by up-and-coming film-makers, Lucy Morgan directs The Incubator a film that sensitively considers the story of children born too early to survive outside an incubator. For the 50,000 children who are born prematurely each year, the incubator provides them with a chance of survival. With unique access to a neonatal intensive care ward, this film follows the journey of four different families. In a world of high emotions The Incubator shares personal family moments as parents hold their babies for the first time, see their children through life saving surgery and, after many months of sitting beside an incubator, get to take their children home.
The Incubator is being shown on Friday 24th August at 7.30pm on Channel 4. More information available here – http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-incubator/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1.
August 24, 2010
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 2:16 am
Research in Denmark carried out on 60,000 pregnant women discovered that pregnant women that consumed soft drinks with artificial sweeteners had an increased chance of premature birth.
The study found that those who consumed at least one serving daily had a 38% increased chance of giving birth 37 weeks prior to gestation while those that had more than four drinks per day had a 78% increased chance of premature birth.
The effect was lower on those who drank soft drinks and no link was observed between sugar sweetened drinks and premature birth.
Researchers proposed that artificial sweeteners may break down into chemicals once in the body that alter in the womb.
Spokesperson for the American Society of Nutrition, Dr. Shelly McGuire, stated that the findings may be a step towards preventing babies from premature birth in particularly those that are induced.
McGuire continued to say that more studies will need to be performed, but at this time the study clearly suggests that those who are pregnant should abstain from consuming any drinks with artificial sweeteners. She added that those who are pregnant should be consuming more nutrient rich drinks as a general rule of thumb such as fruit juices, milk, and plenty of water.
A British Soft Drinks Association spokesman however countered the study recommendations by stating that the findings should not be overly considered to be truth, and that any woman that is worried about proper diet during pregnancy should simply talk to her doctor about her concerns.
May 8, 2010
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 4:40 pm
At six months pregnant Shona Stacey tripped and fell on her way to the post office, breaking her arm. However, as she lay in the hospital bed she had no idea that her baby was starving due to a failed placenta.
However, staff at the Plymouth Derriford Hospital did a scan, which is routine, and found that her child would need to be delivered immediately in order for Stacey to survive, which was hard for Stacey given she was told that the baby would likely not make it if she underwent the surgery.
Finally she agreed to an emergency Caesarian and delivered her child at only 11lb 3ozs two days after the accident occurred in October of 2009. At the time, baby Keira was facing kidney and lung failure, and the child was placed on a ventilator for three months.
It was not until January that it looked as if she may survive when she was able to breathe on her own for the first time; although doctors now feared that she may suffer from cerebral palsy or be deaf or blind.
However, as of February Keira is now home and seven months old and outside of taking oxygen through a tube is able to lead a normal life which her mother describes as precious.
In fact, Precious is one of the child’s middle names, and according to her mother they are blessed to have her in their lives after what happened, and have learned not to take anything for granted.
March 12, 2010
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 4:38 am
A new study suggests that premature babies may have better survival rates if a technique that in effect ‘washes out’ their brains when severely ill is used.
One of the highest complications associated with premature babies is bleeding in the brain because it can easily lead to either brain damage or death. However, a new technique that drains out the blood while replacing it with new fluid was shown to significantly reduce the risk by a Bristol University study.
The technique is theorized to help improve the survival chances of around 100 babies every year.
It takes a few days to complete the technique in full and close monitoring of the pressure in the baby’s brain must be conducted according to researchers who have found the results to be encouraging.
The new treatment would only be practiced on babies that have large haemorrhages which cause the head and brain to expand; which is a condition formally known in the medical community as hydrocephalus.
The usual treatment of such a condition involves inserting needles into the spine or head to remove the fluid repeatedly over a period of months before finally shunt is placed into the baby to drain the fluid out through the abdomen.
Out of the 39 babies that received the new technique, called Drift, at the age of two 54% had died or were disabled compared to the 71% who had died or become seriously disabled using the usual treatment of the condition.
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 4:35 am
In June of 2009 doctors dubbed a small newborn who weighed just a little over 9.7 ounces and measured less than a sheet of A-4 paper length wise ‘Tom Thumb’ after his birth that came 15 weeks prematurely at the Gottingen, Germany University of Medicine.
After his birth, the baby was placed in an incubator, fed through feeding tubes, hooked up to a heart monitor, breathing tubes, other electronic monitors, and a catheter for every hour of the day. Doctors feared that the child would soon face organ failure or cerebral haemorrhage.
Finally the baby was labelled stable once he reached the weight of 8.2lbs in December and now after nine months since his birth doctors are able to allow its parent’s to take it home deciding that the boy will now be able to survive on his own.
Gottingen hospital officials stated that after they researched all the records of premature births globally they were not able to find a viable birth rate of any other boy at the same weight or lower. There were three girls, including one from the US that weighed in at 244 grams, that was able to survive. The smallest boy on the books that survived weighed in at 10.4 ounces.
A premature birth expert, Dr. Stephan Seeliger, stated that he spoke to the parents at length before the caesarean birth about whether they should take the chance or not and at this point he is very glad that they decided to go for it.
December 17, 2009
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 9:18 am
In the case of premature births in which children are born before the mother reaches the 37th week, newborn girls have a better chance of survival and less defects than newborn boys.
In a dissertation at Sweden’s Lund University, Emma Elsmen Steen explored why male babies have a higher risk factor for death than their female counterparts.
There are many complications present in preterm birth including brain haemorrhaging, low blood pressure, cognitive handicaps, and lung immaturity. The more premature a child is born, the higher the risks, especially before the 28th week of pregnancy.
Steen stated in her dissertation that it is a well known fact that boys are a higher risk than girls which is something she wanted to explore to see the development process in the womb.
To complete her study Steen researched over 200 premature births finding that boys were in fact often prone to more complications during the initial period following birth. She found that often boys had lower blood pressure and were more likely to have chronic lung disease.
In another study males were found to have a greater risk of pregnancy toxaemia, infection, loss of amniotic fluid or excessive amniotic fluid.
Steen proposed that in the same way that preeclampsia affects mothers with girl foetuses early in pregnancy, there may be another disease that is not yet identified that primarily affects mothers with boy foetuses causing the premature birthing problems.
Ultimately, Steen drew the conclusion that premature boys face a higher morbidity rate because they mature later in the foetus lifespan than females.
.
December 14, 2009
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 7:49 am
Research suggests that there may be one simple test that can accurately predict whether premature labour pains will result in a delivery or a false alarm. Fewer than half of all women who show signs of premature labour actually give birth and often are still subject to many unnecessary tests.
The good news is that now UK researchers believe a test that looks for fFN (foetal fibronectin) may solve the dilemma.
The University of College London study suggests that since fFN protein attaches to the foetal sac a sign of imminent birth is if the protein is found to be leaking. If it is not leaking which is shown by low fFN levels, there is a good chance that the baby is safe.
Although the test to look at fFN levels is easy and cheap, most maternity units do not currently use it.
It can be done while a vaginal examination is performed and is usually done if a woman complains of abdominal pain while pregnant.
The study was conducted at a hospital in which the test was proved to be almost 99% accurate in predicting which women who would go into labour and which ones would not.
Dr. Anna David the lead researcher in the study stated that the fear of a premature baby can cause pregnant women to get very anxious which can be easily remedied by fFN testing. David also stated that it would reduce the amount spent in the healthcare system on long hospital stays that are unneeded.
December 9, 2009
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 9:44 am
An East Sussex family is now celebrating taking their ‘miracle’ baby home with them after it was born prematurely at only 23.5 weeks. Mark James and Jodi Andrews feared that they would never get to take Anabella out of the hospital after her birth was extremely premature at the Eastbourne District General Hospital.
However, after being treated for four months at three different hospitals at Surrey and Sussex she was finally able to go home last week. James stated that they are beyond belief about how lucky they were.
Andrews went into birth prematurely and was rushed to the general hospital where she gave birth.
James stated that when the baby was born it was still encased in the amniotic sac, which in olden times was supposed to be lucky. He stated that at this point Anabella is a miracle baby since it protected her from bruising.
He continued to say that the couple was told that normally a child under 24 weeks would not be resuscitated but that given the opportunity they chose to give her a chance.
After her birth, Anabella was transferred to the St. Peter’s Hospital special care baby unit and then onto the Brighton Royal Sussex County Hospital.
James stated that there were many problems along the way and that it was an emotional fight but that the NHS offered them an extremely high amount of support, which made the entire ordeal easier for the couple to handle.
December 3, 2009
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 7:07 am
Olli Reid has always looked upwards toward his twin brother, but not for the reason that most people would think. Instead, he looks up to his brother Alfie because despite being a twin Alfie was born at twice the birth weight of Olli, due to problems that occurred before the twins were born.
Olli was born at a low birth weight of four pounds, while Alfie was almost nine pounds due to the fact that Alfie’s size started to suffocate Olli and stole his nourishment in the womb.
Even though Alfie may have been a bully in the womb, the brothers have developed their normal twin bond outside of the womb, with their mother stating that Olli will not settle down for bed unless Alfie is beside him.
Doctors delivered the twins eight weeks early due to fears that Olli may not survive in womb, although there was a high risk that with his low birth weight he would not survive outside of it as well. However he defied the odds and now both boys are comfortable at their home in Banff, Aberdeenshire with their parents.
The twin’s parents had been trying to conceive for four years before the mother became pregnant and lost one child to a miscarriage before conceiving the twins. Doctors discovered the abnormal weight discrepancies after she was in a car accident and a scan was performed to check on the twins in the womb.
Doctors expect that it will take Olli about two years to level out at the same weight as his twin.
View Video
October 29, 2009
Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 9:32 am
A research team from Newcastle University now believes that Trichostatin A, a drug commonly used to treat cancer, may also be useful in preventing premature labour.
The research team tested the drug on the tissue of 26 women who had a caesarean surgery, and found that the therapy helps to increase the protein in the tissue, which aids muscle relaxation and prevents contractions.
Every year in the UK there are over 50,000 premature babies born, out of which 1,500 babies die. In fact, preterm labour is thought to be one of the leading causes of infant death around the globe, in the developed areas of the world.
Researchers found that when Trichostatin A was tested on the tissue of women who had a caesarean contractions reduced by 46% on average for tissue that was contracting spontaneously, and on average the oxytocin which is a well known labour drug saw its reduction of contractions by 54%.
The reason why the Trichostatin may be helpful in reducing contractions is due to the fact that medically it was previously proven that protein kinase A is helpful in controlling and relaxing the uterus throughout pregnancy.
The use of the Trichostatin helps to increase the amount of protein kinase A found in the cells.
Although the leader of the research team, Professor Nick Europe-Finner, stated that Trichostatin cannot be given to an actual patient since it can kills as much as 10% of genes in a cell, the fact that it isolates agents makes the discovery worth further investigation.
Next Page »
