By Lisa Pecos
New evidence from a Brazilian study has the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urging parents of infants exposed to Zika virus during pregnancy to undergo hearing testing.
Read MoreCategory: Pre-Term Birth
What Is the APGAR Score?
What Does a Newborn’s APGAR Score Mean?
The APGAR score (also called “newborn scoring”) is the first test that your newborn baby will ever be given. It is performed in hospitals throughout the world by the doctor, midwife or nurse. It is usually done twice, at 1 minute after birth, then again at 5 minutes. Occasionally, if the baby does not appear to be doing well, or the score was low at 5 minutes, the test may be done a third time 10 minutes after birth.
The APGAR scores are simply a way for the healthcare provider to quickly assess a newborn’s physical condition, and determine whether extra medical or emergency care is needed. The tests indicate if the infant needs help breathing or is having heart trouble.
Read MoreWhy Is the Amniotic Sac Manually Ruptured During Birth?
Amniotic Sac Is Ruptured by Doctors (and Midwives) More Often than Necessary, According to Studies and Experts
We are all appreciative of the advances that have been made in safely delivering infants in our modern age, which have increased the number of live births, compared to many decades ago. However, just like doctors can get carried away doing unnecessary medical interventions and prescribing drugs that aren’t really needed, in general and specialized medicine, the specialty of obstetrics is no different.
An expectant woman does well to gather all the information she can about labor and delivery, before her due date arrives. Quite unfortunately, in regular hospitals, it is more the norm than the exception to subject mother and baby to procedures that go too far, and which can result in unnecessary complications for mother and infant.
Read MoreFetal Exposure to Chemicals and I.Q.
Exposure to Common Chemicals Before Birth Linked to Lower I.Q., Says Study
Two chemicals commonly found in plastics have been linked to lower I.Q.’s in children when the mothers were exposed to higher amounts of the chemicals during pregnancy, according to a new study by researchers from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
The two compounds are di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP); they belong to a class of chemicals called phthalates which are used for varied purposes, including making plastics softer and less brittle, improving spreadability of products like household paints and nail polish, and extending shelf life of scents in grooming products, household cleaning liquids, detergents and air fresheners.
Read MorePlacenta Is a Gateway to Friendly (and Unfriendly) Bacteria for Fetus
The placenta is the organ that a pregnant woman develops inside her uterus, to transfer oxygen and nutrients to her baby via the blood, while removing gasses and other waste from the infant. Researchers once thought that the placenta was a “sterile” environment, devoid of any bacteria that might find its way to the growing baby attached by the umbilical cord. But a new study has uncovered that the placenta actually harbors hundreds of bacteria species; most of them are harmless or beneficial.
Scientists found about 300 types of bacteria; they then compared the distribution of bacteria types with those that had been found previously in other parts of mothers’ bodies, including the mouth, skin, gut and vagina.
Read MoreWhat Things Should a Pregnant Woman Do to Reduce Risk of Pre-Term Birth?
According to the March of Dimes, a woman can take important steps to improve her chances of carrying her unborn baby to full term.
Pre-term birth is defined as a baby who is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Even at just a few weeks short of 40 weeks — a true full-term pregnancy — a baby could still face much higher odds of being born with serious health problems. These are some key points for an expectant mother to keep in mind, to help insure that her baby is not born prematurely:
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