Despite being home to a world-class medical center; renowned physicians and high-quality medical treatment, many communities in Houston experience significantly higher infant and maternal death rates. In some areas of Harris County, rates are nearly five times the national average, with black women and their babies at the greatest risk. The University of Houston Graduate…
Theoretically, high titers of immunoglobulins in breast milk might reduce the efficacy of the same vaccine; administered to infants. Current evidence shows that when routine childhood vaccines are given according to vaccination schedules, breastfeeding not only does not interfere with the infant’s response to any vaccine but also actually enhances infants’ response to some vaccines.…
Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the feeding of babies and young children with milk from a woman’s breast. Health professionals recommend that breastfeeding begin within the first hour of a baby’s life and continue as often and as much as the baby wants. During the first few weeks of life, babies may nurse roughly every two…
An estimated six to 15 million people in the U.S. are children born of a pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia. New research performed in rats reveals that treating preeclampsia with sildenafil citrate (Viagra); may help protect the cardiovascular health of the offspring. Preeclampsia occurs when women with otherwise normal blood pressure experience elevated blood pressure during pregnancy.…
These days, guilt seems intrinsic to parenthood. And as many mothers will know; health professionals seem ever ready to stoke up guilt with their advice. Do not smoke. Do not drink. Have your vaccines. Take your folate tablets. Eat a nutritious diet, but avoid soft cheese, cured meat, food that’s been long in a fridge;…
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have found that some preterm babies born without haptoglobin; a protein in blood cells have higher odds of brain bleeding, cerebral palsy and death. Their findings suggest that the absence of the protein could serve as a potential biomarker indicating a need; for increased monitoring or other…
Increasing maternal travel distance by ten miles? over the 50-mile long-distance threshold? with an increase in the probability of fetal growth, known as intrauterine growth restriction. For every ten miles or travel distance added to a long commute; the probability of having intrauterine growth restriction by 0.6 % points or 43 %; compared to the…
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or funiculus umbilicalis) is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord is physiologically and genetically part of the fetus and (in humans); normally contains two arteries (the umbilical arteries) and one vein (the umbilical vein), buried within Wharton’s jelly. The umbilical vein supplies the fetus with…
Cesarean sections are disproportionately threatening the lives of women and babies in low and middle-income countries (LMIC); according to a study led by Queen Mary University of London. The analysis of data from 12 million pregnancies, published in The Lancet; finds that maternal deaths in LMICs are 100 times higher than in some high-income countries;…
Artificial intelligence may significantly improve the accuracy of premature death prediction; compared with standard models, report researchers at the University of Nottingham. The team recently trained two artificial intelligence (AI) models to evaluate a decade’s worth of open-access health data and predict a person’s risk of dying prematurely from chronic disease. The most advanced AI…
The Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation (FLRF) and The University of Western Australia (UWA); have just released a new clinical tool to help medical practitioners resolve lactation challenges and support breastfeeding LactaMap. Featuring content developed by UWA; the online resource offers a wealth of evidence-based information to advance understanding of human lactation, ensure consistent care for breastfeeding…
The survival rate among extremely preterm babies has greatly improved in Sweden, a country that offers top-class neonatal care, a study led from Karolinska Institutet in the esteemed journal JAMA reports. The researchers have analyzed survival among Swedish babies born over 3.5 months prematurely in week 22-26 and compared the statistics from 2014-2016 to those…