To examine variations in the registration of extremely low birthweight and early gestation births and to assess their effect on perinatal and infant mortality rankings of industrialised countries. Retrospective population based study. Australia, Canada, European countries, and the United States for 2004; Australia, Canada, and New Zealand for 2007. National ...

Identifying every pregnancy, regardless of home or health facility delivery, is crucial to accurately estimating maternal and neonatal mortality. Furthermore, obtaining birth weights and other anthropometric measurements in rural settings in resource limited countries is a difficult challenge. Unfortunately for the majority of infants born outside of a health care ...

The Indigenous population of Australia was estimated as 2.5% and under-reported. The aim of this study is to improve statistical ascertainment of Aboriginal women giving birth in New South Wales. This study was based on linked birth data from the Midwives Data Collection (MDC) and the Registry of Births Deaths ...

Maternal administration of the acyclovir prodrug valacyclovir is compatible with pregnancy and breastfeeding. However, the safety profile of prolonged infant and maternal exposure to acyclovir in the context of antiretrovirals (ARVs) for prevention of mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission (PMTCT) has not been described. Pregnant Kenyan women co-infected with HIV-1/HSV-2 with CD4 ...

Hyperglycemia is commonly observed in extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGANs) and is associated with both increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between neonatal hyperglycemia and adiponectin levels in ELGANs. Ten preterm infants between 22+6/7 and 27+3/7 weeks' gestation with neonatal hyperglycemia ...

To identify the immediate economic impact of maternal death on rural Chinese households. Results are reported from a study that matched 195 households who had suffered a maternal death to 384 households that experienced a childbirth without maternal death in rural areas of three provinces in China, using quantitative questionnaire ...

We previously identified via a genome wide association study variants near LEKR and CCNL1 and in the ADCY5 genes lead to lower birthweight. Here, we study the impact of these variants and social stress during pregnancy, defined as social adversity and neighborhood disparity, on infant birth size. We aimed to ...

In Kenya, infant mortality rate increased from 59 deaths per 1000 live births in 1988 to 78 deaths per 1000 live births by 2003. This was an increase of about 32 percent in 15 years. The reasons behind this upturn are poorly understood. This paper investigates the probable factors behind the ...

Caesarean section rates in Brazil have been steadily increasing. In 2009, for the first time, the number of children born by this type of procedure was greater than the number of vaginal births. Caesarean section is associated with a series of adverse effects on the women and newborn, and recent ...

Parental early adjustment to a prenatal or postnatal diagnosis of congenital anomaly has been studied mainly within a pathological and deterministic perspective, giving us an inadequate view of the impact of the diagnosis. Adopting a comprehensive approach on parental adjustment, we aimed to characterise the impact of the diagnosis on ...

While attending birth mostly has a positive impact on becoming a father, it has also been described as including feelings of discomfort and is more demanding than expected. The objective was to explore Swedish fathers' birth experiences, and factors associated with a less-positive birth experience. Mixed methods including quantitative and ...

Prenatal weight partitioning is gender specific, and infants born small for gestational age (SGA) have a lower fat mass and a lower fat-free mass than infants born appropriate for gestational age (AGA). Follistatin is an adipokine with adipogenic properties. We examined whether follistatin circulates in the human foetus at term ...

This study aimed to estimate the most recent caesarean section rates in the world and examine the association between these rates and old and new indicators of health care. Authors analyzed the Caesarean Section (CS) rates, also in geo-economic and economic groups, and correlated them to maternal and neonatal mortality, ...

Bile-plug syndrome is defined as an obstruction of the common bile duct by bile sludge in full-term infants. It is a correctable cause of obstructive jaundice in infants and is generally treated surgically. Here, we present a case of a 5-month-old infant with bile-plug syndrome, which was treated by percutaneous ...

This study analyzes maternal deaths in a tertiary maternity in Niamey, Niger. This is a retrospective study covering the period of one year, from January 1 to December 31 2007. The setting for this study was the Maternity Issaka Gazobi, a tertiary maternity referral centre in the city of Niamey, ...

Hypothermia at birth has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. To evaluate the effect of wrap with polyethylene bag at birth on admission temperatures and the incidences of hypothermia on admission in preterm infants gestational age < or = 32 weeks. A randomized controlled trial was ...

The purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing maternal identity of Korean primiparas. The data were collected by a self-report questionnaire in 2006. The participants were 210 healthy primiparous women who delivered at one of three medical centers and revisited the outpatient department for follow up between 4 ...

This study was aimed at evaluating the clinical outcome of infants with antenatally diagnosed hydronephrosis. Our objective was also to determine whether there is a significant correlation between anterior posterior pelvic diameter (APPD) and urinary tract abnormalities detected. We retrospectively analyzed data of 145 infants collected between January 2000 and ...

Compared to singletons, multiple births are associated with a substantially-higher risk of maternal and perinatal mortality worldwide. However, little evidence exists on the perinatal profile and risk of neurodevelopmental disabilities among the survivors, especially in developing countries. This cross-sectional study, therefore, set out to determine the adverse perinatal outcomes that ...

To assess the feasibility of using birth attendants instead of bereaved mothers as perinatal verbal autopsy respondents. Verbal autopsy interviews for early neonatal deaths and stillbirths were conducted separately among mothers (reference standard) and birth attendants in 38 communities in four developing countries. Concordance between maternal and attendant responses was ...

Fetus in fetu (FIF) is an extremely rare cause of infantile abdominal mass where a rudimentary, malformed monozygotic-diamniotic twin grows inside the other twin. We describe a male infant with double or twin fetuses in fetu. The diagnosis was made on a computerized tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and ...

This report presents 2009 data on U.S. births according to a wide variety of characteristics. Data are presented for maternal characteristics including age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, marital status, hypertension during pregnancy, attendant at birth, method of delivery, and infant characteristics (period of gestation, birthweight, and plurality). Birth ...

A 26year old woman with ulcerative colitis was treated with regular infliximab (IFX) infusions until gestation week 31, and gave birth to a healthy child at gestation week 37. Maternal IFX trough level was relatively high during the course of pregnancy. In the infant, therapeutic level of IFX was detectable ...

Developmental disabilities have been reported in infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) treated with inhaled nitric oxide (INO) or intravenous magnesium sulphate (MgSO(4)) and/or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. This paper reports the rate of developmental disabilities at 2 years of age in a cohort of survivors of PPHN ...

Elective caesarean section rates have risen over the last decade worldwide. The increase in this rate is not associated with clear benefit for the baby or mother but proportionally associated with increased morbidity for both. Neonatal adverse outcomes in infants born before 39 weeks of gestation are increased and increase ...

To compare the obstetric outcome of teenage pregnancies with that of non teenage pregnancies. A prospective case-control study was conducted in three tertiary care hospitals of Sindh, Pakistan from September 2008 to November 2008. The data regarding obstetric outcome of all teenagers (13-19 years) delivering in the three hospitals was ...

Treacher Collins syndrome has been described as a syndrome involving 1st and 2nd branchial arches, affecting various organs in the craniofacial region. Affected infants report with nasal regurgitation and minimal dietary intake due to cleft palate, consequently show delayed and retarded growth. The situation is further complicated when the repair ...

To find predictors of a difficult intubation in infants with an isolated or a syndromic cleft lip/palate. Retrospective review: single-blind trial. Tertiary care centre. A total of 145 infants born with cleft lip/palate were enrolled. Three clinical and seven lip/palate anatomic parameters were evaluated. The grade of intubation was determined ...

Few cases of premature infants with classical phenylketonuria (PKU) have been reported. Treatment of these patients is challenging due to the lack of a phenylalanine (Phe)-free amino acid (AA) solution for parenteral nutrition. A boy born at 27 weeks of gestation with a weight of 1000 g was diagnosed with ...

The study is a descriptive, population-based analysis of birth outcomes in the New York State Finger Lakes region designed to determine whether perinatal outcomes differed across 3 rural typologies. Hospital birth data for the Finger Lakes region from 2006 to 2007 were used to identify births classified as low birthweight ...

AimTandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is a recommended investigation for sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), but there are limited data regarding yield and potential influencing factors. This study investigates postmortem acylcarnitine profiles in a large cohort of infant deaths from a single centre, including those with metabolic disease.MethodsAcylcarnitine results obtained ...

To examine spatial patterns of neighborhood contextual factors of stress with preterm birth (PTB) and nativity (foreign-born and U.S.-born) among Black mothers. Descriptive geographic-spatial research. Births to Philadelphia residents during 2003-2005 in the context of Philadelphia residential neighborhoods (N = 350) were studied. All data were aggregated to neighborhood levels (census tracts). ...

The objective of this study was to know the state of newborns in Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital. This was a retrospective study of newborns delivered in Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital from mid April 2008 to mid April 2009. There were 793 births with male: female ratio being 1.08:1. ...

To determine the yearly maternal mortality ratio over the period 2006-2010 and trends in the causes of 139 audited maternal deaths from 2008-2010 at the Tamale Teaching Hospital in Ghana Retrospective descriptive review of maternal deaths Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Tamale Teaching Hospital Data on maternal deaths that occurred ...

To determine the impact of late preterm birth on neonatal morbidity and neonatal unit admissions compared to full term babies in Amman, Jordan. Data was extracted through retrospective file review from 2009 to 2010, on all singletons born at Queen Alia Hospital in Amman, Jordan. This cross sectional study noted ...

Despite notable advances in neonatal care, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains an important complication of preterm birth, frequently resulting in prolonged hospital stay and long-term morbidity. A historical cohort study of all preterm infants (gestational age younger than 37 weeks) admitted to the Montreal Children's Hospital (Montreal, Quebec) between January 1, ...

The mother-adult daughter relationship has been highlighted in both the social sciences and the public health literature as an important facet of social support networks, particularly as they pertain to maternal and child health. Evolutionary anthropologists also have shown positive associations between support from maternal grandmothers and various outcomes related ...

Research on racial residential segregation (RRS) and birth outcomes has focused on RRS at a broad geographic scale, in an aspatial framework, and in northern US cities. We developed a spatial measure of neighborhood level racial isolation of blacks. We examined the association between this new measure and low birthweight, ...

Objective:  Amplitude integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) has been used in neonates in various clinical and research applications. We hypothesized that an abnormal aEEG score could be used as a predictor of short-term adverse outcome. Methods:  Very low birth weight infants were enrolled in a prospective observational cohort study. Two channel 12-hour ...

: The main purpose of the present study was to determine listening preference for child-directed speech (CDS) over static (white noise, WN) and dynamic (time-reversed speech, TRS) nonspeech stimuli in both normal-hearing (NH) infants and hearing-impaired infants with cochlear implants (CIs). A second purpose was to investigate the effect of ...

Intrauterine growth restriction is one of the most common and complex problems in modern obstetrics. The cut off value mainly used for defining an IUGR is at the 10th percentile. There are many evidence demonstrating that the adverse perinatal outcome are mainly confined to infants below the 5th or 3th ...

As a result of the increase in premature births and the advances in neonatal intensive care, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains one of the most important causes of childhood blindness worldwide. The main factors in the development of ROP are gestational age, birth weight and oxygen therapy. ROP continues to ...

Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants, born weighing less than 1,500 g, are at risk for several developmental problems. Consequently, there has been interest in developing intervention programs to prevent such problems. This article describes the empirical evidence that guided the development of an innovative, multicomponent intervention program for mothers ...

The paper discusses the reliability of the Apgar score for evaluating newborns, particularly its usefulness in assessing the state of preterm or full term newborns born with hypoxia. The paper provides a sum-up of the opinions on usefulness and reliability of the Apgar score given by doctors from 255 NICUs. ...

A male infant was born by emergency caesarean section at 34(+4) weeks for failed induction of labour. Shortly after birth a depression about the same size as the baby's fist was noted over the right parietal region. After careful consideration of the perinatal history and examination findings, the baby was ...

This case concerns a premature infant with typical signs of congenital syphilis born to an untreated foreign mother. Syphilis prevalence in pregnant women has been rising in Italy since the beginning of the 21st century, mainly due to immigration. A correct antenatal syphilis screening and consequent adequate therapy of pregnant ...

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common gastrointestinal emergency of premature infants, but its etiology remains unclear. We have previously shown that mucin 2 (Muc2) positive goblet cells are significantly decreased in NEC. We have also shown that ileal bile acids (BAs) are significantly increased during the development of this ...

Neonatal central cyanosis is always a sign of serious pathological processes and may involve diverse organs and impose a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Here, we report an unusual presentation of Ebstein's anomaly, a rare congenital heart malformation, as the cause of central cyanosis in a one-week-old full-term infant. Initiation ...

Amniotic fluid (AF) is important for the establishment of maternal behaviour in inexperienced ewes, but its role in experienced mothers remains to be studied. Here, the maintenance of post-partum maternal responsiveness and the establishment of exclusive bonding was investigated in multiparous ewes when AF was removed from the neonate or/and ...

Therapeutic hypothermia has been associated with improved outcomes in term infants particularly in those who present with moderate hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). However, in the three major studies the time to initiate cooling was at approximately 4.5 postnatal hours. To determine in term infants who meet criteria for therapeutic hypothermia whether ...