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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September 09, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
September is Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Awareness Month. Families do not plan or expect to end up in the NICU with their baby, but premature births, or medical conditions at birth, mean that a baby will need specialized care for a period of time that could be just a few hours after birth or extend many months, until a baby is healthy enough to go home. Here are resources that you may want to share with families, in case they find themselves in the NICU.
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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.
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November 17, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Today, November 17th, is World Prematurity Day. Globally, this day is set aside to recognize the signs and risks of premature birth and to understand the impact that premature birth has on babies and families. . One in ten babies are born prematurely around the world. The most recent rate in the United States is 9.7 and that is an increase from the year before. You can find out more global current stats here. Being born prematurely impacts the health and well-being of babies from the moment of birth and throughout their entire life. Additionally, the medical dollars dedicated to caring for premature babies from the time of birth and often continuing for their entire life is immense.
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