For Parents in the NICU, Trauma May Last

For Parents in the NICU, Trauma May Last

A new study from Stanford University School of Medicine, published in the journal Psychosomatics, followed 18 such parents, both men and women. After four months, three had diagnoses of P.T.S.D. and seven were considered at high risk for the disorder.

In another study, researchers from Duke University interviewed parents six months after their baby’s due date and scored them on three post-traumatic stress symptoms: avoidance, hyperarousal, and flashbacks or nightmares. Of the 30 parents, 29 had two or three of the symptoms, and 16 had all three.

“The NICU was very much like a war zone, with the alarms, the noises, and death and sickness,” Ms. Roscoe said. “You don’t know who’s going to die and who will go home healthy.”
Experts say parents of NICU infants experience multiple traumas, beginning with the early delivery, which is often unexpected.


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From Preemies to Adults

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The grown-up preemies Hoekstra studied were all born at Children’s Hospital at between 23-29 weeks gestation. An average pregnancy is 40 weeks. All of them weighed less than 1,000 grams, or about 2.2 pounds, at birth.Back then, the survival rate for a micro preemie was just 53 percent. Since then, it’s increased to nearly 90 percent, thanks to medical advancements such as improved ventilators and drugs to treat underdeveloped lungs.

Researchers were able to get long-term data on 116 of the preemies ages 18-22 years, and the results were impressive. Almost 90 percent have graduated from high school and almost 60 percent have gone on to college. Three-fourths have a driver’s license, and nearly 90 percent have been employed. The group includes students with 4.0 GPAs, athletes and musicians.

Folic acid linked to reduced risk of preemie births

Tuesday May 13, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study conducted by the University of Texas confirms a direct correlation between folic acid supplementation and reduced risk of early birth. The study followed 35,000 women; those who took folic acid for a full year before conception were 50% less likely to give birth before 37 weeks.
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March of Dimes Provides $2.7 Million in New Funding For Preterm Birth Research

--Innovative Scientists Aim to Predict and Prevent Preterm Birth

"This research is critical to ending the epidemic of preterm birth," said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the organization. "That's why we created the PRI grants and continue to award them even in these difficult economic times, because the goal is for every baby to be born healthy and full-term."

Jennifer Condon, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, is one of the new PRI grant recipients who's seeking clues to what causes both normal labor and premature labor. Her work focuses on an enzyme called caspase-3 that typically is involved in cell turnover.

"We think we've found a central mechanism for why the pregnant uterus usually stays quiet for nine months," Dr. Condon says. "Caspase-3 may be what prevents the uterus from contracting during a normal, healthy pregnancy. We hypothesize that inappropriate elimination of this enzyme from the pregnant uterus may be the cause of the onset of preterm labor."

Caspase-3 is positively regulated by progesterone and other studies have shown that regular injections of a form of progesterone found naturally during pregnancy can prevent some preterm births in women who have had a prior preterm birth.

Doctors don't know why my baby daughter isn't getting any bigger

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Meet Suraya Brown – the little girl who is baffling doctors by refusing to grow.

The brown-eyed youngster is now 14-months-old and should weigh at least 20lb. Yet she is still the size of a newborn baby, tipping the scales at just over 7lb and a mere 19in.

Suraya has been examined by a whole team of specialists including paediatricians, nutritionists, geneticists and hormone experts.

But doctors say they still have no idea why she won’t grow – describing her condition as a “real conundrum”.

Mum Atlanta Ruzman, 24, said yesterday that her daughter was like a real-life baby doll.

She said: “The doctors haven’t got a clue what is wrong with her.

“They’ve consulted international experts about her case but her condition seems to be a complete mystery.

“She cannot sit, talk or crawl and she has to be fed through a tube to keep her alive. But she just hasn’t been putting on any weight.

“She is way behind other youngsters of her age and when they mark her growth chart they have to plot her off the graph. She is a just like a real-life doll. In fact my other daughter has a doll that is bigger than her.”

Suraya was born four weeks early weighing 2.6lb. But specialists say nine out of 10 babies born at this stage will immediately start growing and put on weight.

In Suraya’s case she stayed at her birth weight for the first eight months and has only put on a small amount over the past six.

Experts at various hospitals in London have carried out all kinds of tests on Suraya to find out what could be wrong with her. These have included checks to see whether she is suffering from some form of dwarfism.

But so far these have brought no positive results. Even being fed in hospital direct by tube failed to put on significant weight.

Her condition is in stark contrast to that of elder sister Akilah, who is two-and-a-half.

She was walking early at nine months of age and is now a big child for her age.

Atlanta, of Hayes, Middlesex, added: “Akilah is a huge child. Yet I still have to carry Suraya like a newborn baby the whole time.

“It’s very difficult because we don't know what the future holds for Suraya.

“But we are hoping the doctors will soon be able to find out and she will be able to live a normal life.” Suraya has now been admitted to

London’s renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital for three months for further tests.

Doctors will investigate a theory that her body has become resistant to its own growth hormones.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Jide Menakaya, who has known Suraya since birth, said: “She is a very interesting little baby.

“Her case is highly unusual. I have certainly never seen anything like this and I have been in paediatrics for nearly 17 years.

“A whole range of specialists have been involved in her care but she has been a real conundrum.

“The fact that she still did not grow after we put the feeding tube directly into her veins was unexpected and surprised us greatly.

“This is incredibly rare. We have run many tests but we haven’t had a firm reason as to why she is not growing.

“Now we are working on a theory but more investigations need to be carried out.”

Woman Gives Birth to Octuplets in Southern California

Octuplets!

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BELLFLOWER, Calif. – A woman gave birth Monday to eight babies, only the second time in history octuplets have survived more than a few hours, doctors said.

The mother gave birth to six boys and two girls weighing between 1 pound, 8 ounces, and 3 pounds, 4 ounces, doctors at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center said. The hospital had scheduled a Caesarean section for seven babies, but doctors were surprised when an eighth came out at 10:48 a.m.

"My eyes were wide," Dr. Karen Maples said, explaining her reaction to the last birth.

Doctors said the babies were born nine weeks premature but are in stable condition. Two newborns were placed on ventilators and a third needs oxygen.

Utah Newborns Tested For Cystic Fibrosis

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As many as 25 babies born in Utah this year with cystic fibrosis (CF), or who carry the CF gene, will be diagnosed early thanks to the expansion of the Utah Department of Health's (UDOH) Newborn Screening Program. The program screens blood samples from approximately 55,000 newborns every year and identifies nearly 500 babies who are born with 36 different genetic disorders.

"Often times diseases are not detected and diagnosed until symptoms actually begin to present themselves, which unfortunately could be too late to prevent disability or death," said UDOH Executive Director Dr. David Sundwall. "The Newborn Screening Program is critical to the early detection of disease and allows doctors to provide treatments that will help ensure these babies lead fuller and healthier lives as they grow up."