According to a recent NPR article, the amount of prenatal genetic testing available to expectant parents has increased enormously over the last decade (1). Furthermore, the genetic testing industry is expected to continue growing by nearly 30% over the five years ahead (1). What are genetic tests used for? Prenatal genetic testing is used to…
New Study Finds Benefits of Repeat Prenatal Corticosteroid Treatments Infants born prematurely (before 37 weeks gestation) face numerous risks that those born at term do not. They may experience breathing problems, brain problems, heart problems, temperature control problems, immune system problems, and other short-term issues that usually require a stay in the NICU (1). Furthermore,…
Premature babies often have numerous health problems, and require extensive, costly treatments (1). Their underdeveloped organs and general fragility make them especially susceptible to birth injuries, infections, and other neonatal complications. In the United States, 70% of premature births occur between weeks 34 and 36 of pregnancy, or the “late preterm period” (2) These infants…
The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country in the world (1). There are myriad reasons for this devastating fact, one of which is that hospitals across the country can be terribly unprepared for maternal emergencies. In a recent USA Today story, journalists examined billing records from seven million births in…
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a type of newborn brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation during or around the time of birth, has been linked to a variety of pregnancy conditions. Inna Skarga-Bandurova and colleagues in the Ukraine recently published a study on risk factors for chronic fetal hypoxia (i.e. long-term oxygen deprivation). They analyzed data from…
When a baby requires care after birth, they will be transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or the NICU. Babies may require a NICU stay if they were born prematurely, had problems during delivery, or experienced complications after birth. The cost of a NICU stay depends on a number of factors including duration, treatments,…
Introduction Worldwide, there are about 2.6 million stillbirths each year (1), 24,000 of which occur in the U.S. (2). Our rate of stillbirth is higher than that of many other developed nations. For example, it is more than double the rate in Iceland (3). This regional variation in stillbirths demonstrates that many of these deaths…
The placenta, or “afterbirth,” was previously considered a simple, relatively unimportant organ. However, over time, researchers have realized that it plays a critical role not only in fetal development and maternal health during pregnancy, but also in the long-term well being of both mothers and their children. Although its importance is now generally recognized throughout…
Each year, the March of Dimes releases “Premature Birth Report Cards” for U.S. states and cities. These report cards are based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics, and calculated by comparing each location with the goal of reducing rates of premature birth to 8.1% by the year 2020. Michigan, which earned a…
A recent Detroit Free Press article spoke of the horrifyingly high infant mortality rate among babies born in Detroit. According to the piece, 13 out of every 1,000 babies born in Detroit die before their first birthday. Fortunately, this rate has dropped since the founding of one Detroit organization called SisterFriends Detroit. SisterFriends Detroit is…
