At week 20, one family was faced with startling information about the twins that the mother was carrying. The twins suffered from what is known as ‘Twin-to-twin transfusion Syndrome.’ This is a pregnancy complication that creates a high risk of losing both babies if action is not taken. Traditionally parents
A recent study showed very promising results in reducing the number of premature births among women in high risk groups. The treatment involved a daily administration of a hormone gel. The study showed that the number of premature birth dropped by nearly half among those receiving the treatment. It seems
Cerebral palsy can result from a number of factors including premature birth, lack of oxygen during delivery and infections. Whatever the cause, cerebral palsy permanently changes the lives of those afflicted as well as those that love them. A new treatment at Duke University is exploring the use of stem
When a family goes into the hospital to deliver a baby they generally expect it to be one of the most joyous days of their lives. They have likely already set up a nursery at home and have enjoyed hours of happy anticipation of adding a new member to their
A jury recently awarded a family more than $21 million after finding that the nursing staff was 100 percent liable for failing to properly monitor the fetal heart rate. Now the young boy suffers from cerebral palsy. He cannot speak and is fed through a feeding tube. The funds will
In 2009, a number of people reported mysterious ring-pattern hair loss on their heads. Although these cases baffled doctors at first, investigators soon discovered the culprit: overdoses of radiation that patients had received during CT scans of their brains. In all, nearly 400 people are confirmed to have been affected.
One challenge for medical professionals is identifying pregnant women who may be at higher risk for preterm birth. If women who may be at higher risk can be identified, proactive measure can be taken to monitor and provide treatment alternatives in order to increase the chances that the pregnancy will
Medical professionals may have a new tool for identifying mothers who are at risk for delivering preterm. Early delivery is a significant threat to the health of an infant. Roughly three-quarters of infant deaths are attributable to preterm delivery. The ability to predict and take steps to alleviate these and
Almost a month ago in this space we shared a story about a new drug which had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent premature birth. While it is encouraging that pharmaceutical manufacturers are working on this and that they may be making progress, it was startling
A new study examines the relationship between the frequency with which hospitals use obstetric interventions and the medical outcomes for infants born in those hospitals. Looking at rates of inducing labor and cesarean section births, the study found that there were broad differences between how often these were used at