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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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
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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.
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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.
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