Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
June 15, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
As the world marks 2 ½ years of a long, hard slog through the global COVID-19 pandemic, a new study was just released in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that may create potential concern for pregnant and new families. Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 1 Year in Infants of Mothers Who Tested Positive for SARS-CoV-2 During Pregnancy indicates a relationship between neurodevelopmental delays on 12 month old impacts and the COVID status of the parent during pregnancy. Infants were diagnosed at 12 months with neurodevelopmental delays at higher rates if they were exposed to COVID in utero.
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June 09, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
In 2021, a new systematic review and meta-analysis was published: Maternal Oxygen Supplementation Compared With Room Air for Intrauterine Resuscitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis that examined if oxygen administration impacted the fetus/newborn.
December 02, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
It has long been recognized that skin to skin care between a premature baby and their parent can help those babies gain weight, maintain body temperature, tolerate procedures and experience less stress during their NICU stay. Researchers have now found that newborns who are able to hear the live vocalizations of their parents will respond better to stress, and maintain a more stable body state than those infants who do not have that exposure. Their parent’s voice influences the pain receptors in the newborn and may provide a safe and effective analgesia through the newborn’s endogenous oxytocin production during painful procedures. The findings were documented in the study, Maternal speech decreases pain scores and increases oxytocin levels in preterm infants during painful procedures, published in the journal Scientific Reports in August, 2021
November 09, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
In the United States, the past decade has seen a considerable increase in wildfires, particularly across the western part of the country. A study titled “Associations between wildfire smoke exposure during pregnancy and risk of preterm birth in California,” published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research, found that wildfires may have caused more than 7,000 additional preterm births in California in the years 2007-2012. This is more than 3.7% of all the births that occurred prior to 37 weeks during those years. Premature births increase the risk of long term health problems including neurodevelopment delays, respiratory complications, gastrointestinal problems and even death in babies.
October 21, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
The number of cesarean deliveries in the United States has hovered around 32% in the past decade. Cesarean birth is easily documented and the numbers are a benchmark for birth outcomes and best practice. Cesarean delivery by maternal request (CDMR), on the other hand, is very hard to quantify. It is hard to capture exactly how many cesareans are performed at the request of the pregnant parent. Difficulties in estimating the prevalence of CDMR has been attributed to the lack of an International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code for CDMR and to documentation inconsistencies that are recorded.
August 19, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
A study published in the July 2021 issue of Birth, Fear of childbirth, nonurgent obstetric interventions, and newborn outcomes: A randomized controlled trial comparing mindfulness-based childbirth and parenting with enhanced care as usual examined the impact of a childbirth education course focused on mindfulness on the rate of cesarean births in The Netherlands. The researchers hypothesized that if they could use a mindfulness-based childbirth and parenting (MBCP) program for pregnant people who had a high fear of birth , it would help to decrease their fear, and improve outcomes. It would also decrease the use of epidurals and the number of cesarean deliveries.
August 05, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
August is all about lactation! August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding* Week, August 8th - 14th is Native Breastfeeding Week, August 25th - 31st is Black Breastfeeding Week and in the USA, the entire month recognized as National Breastfeeding Month. Today’s research review summarizes a study that examined nursing and the passage of COVID-19 antibodies from parents who received a COVI-19 vaccination after birth and during bodyfeeding.
December 11, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
In 2017, a travel ban targeting people from countries that were predominately Muslim was instituted through an Executive Order signed by the President of the United States. A newly published paper indicates that this Executive Order can be associated with an increase in preterm births for pregnant people from the seven targeted countries who were living in the United States at the time.
October 22, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Hospital-Based Deliveries With Water Immersion was a retrospective study that was primarily seeking to compare NICU admissions for newborns born in water versus NICU admissions for those born on land. Additionally, the researchers looked at some secondary outcomes such adverse neonatal diagnoses, maternal infections and perineal lacerations.
September 10, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Gestational hypertension is a major concern as people move through their pregnancy. Abnormal blood pressures indicating a hypertensive disorder is a significant cause of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes worldwide. Preeclampsia along with infection and hemorrhage are the three largest cases of maternal mortality currently. It is thought that 1 in 4 deaths that occur from hypertension/preeclampsia in pregnant people are preventable. A new study was just released “A new definition of gestational hypertension? New-onset blood pressures of 130 to 139/80 to 89 mm Hg after 20 weeks of gestation” that attempts to predict those pregnant people who may be at risk of experiencing a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.
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