News - Part 45

Opinion: What’s wrong with letting Mother Nature take her course?

By Abby Burton Induction of labor rates in the United States are increasing. This increase is driven by pregnant women and their families and by obstetric providers. Women have many reasons for wanting an induction of labor. Some are anxious and excited to meet the new family member; some are extremely uncomfortable as their girth and weight increase; some have such busy lives that theyd love to be able to schedule the birth as they would schedule a dinner party; some fear the process of labor and want it behind them.Some providers also encourage a scheduled induction of labor. A…

Opinion: Reducing late preterm births good medicine, public policy

By William W. Hay, Jr., MD In 2003, 12.3 percent of births in the United States were preterm (less than 38 completed weeks of gestation). This represents a 31 percent increase in the preterm birth rate since 1981. As of 2010, the U.S. preterm birth rate has not declined significantly. The largest contribution to the increase in preterm births is from births between 34 and 38 completed weeks of gestation (term is after 38 weeks), known as late preterm births. Late preterm births have been increasing over at least the past two decades to a much greater extent than earlier…

Healthy population key to healthy babies

By Diane Carman Healthy babies come from healthy moms. So, in a groundbreaking change, the nations leading advocates for infants are focusing on the overall health of potential parents. For the first time, we have begun to move toward thinking about the health of people, said Scott Matthews, spokesman for the Colorado Chapter of the March of Dimes. How healthy are teenagers and women of child-bearing age? How can we work toward healthy citizens? Its not good enough to wait until women are pregnant to begin focusing on their health, Matthews said. Fifty percent of pregnancies are unplanned, so we…

Elective induced labor risky, costly

By Diane Carman The March of Dimes has a news flash for women everywhere: pregnancy is more than a nine-month commitment. Actually, its closer to 10. And if you want a healthy baby, there are no loopholes. As a society weve really focused on nine months of pregnancy, said Scott Matthews, director of program services for the Colorado Chapter of the March of Dimes. Surveys have found that women view pregnancy as 36 weeks long. But full term is 40 weeks, and research has shown that significant fetal respiratory and brain development occurs in those last four weeks. In the…

Optimizing Care and Outcome for Late-Preterm (Near-Term) Infants:A Summary of the WorkshopSponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

By Tonse N.K. Raju, MDRosemary D. Higgins, MDAnn R. Stark, MDKenneth J. Leveno, MD Read the full article here

Depression + diabetes = higher heart risks for women

Women who suffer from both depression and diabetes have a increased risk of dying from heart disease, as well as having a higher chance of dying over a six-year period, according to a new study out this week. A CNN report.

Concussion research a game-changer

By Diane Carman Dave Stalls is a burly guy, the size of a linebacker.  He isn’t really a linebacker, though. He is a former NFL defensive tackle and defensive end. Since he retired his cleats, the affable president and CEO of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Colorado has spent 17 years working with young people. Despite his tough exterior, Stalls admits he’s “really scared,” both for himself and for young athletes. “All of us (former NFL players) are used to dealing with the knees, bad shoulders and the back, but to have your brain threatened, that’s really scary,” he said. Stalls…

Republicans cheer ruling challenging health law

The Wall Street Journal reports that Republicans are cheeringMondays ruling on the Affordable Care Act. Afederal judge in Virginia declared a central plank of thehealth care law requiring most Americans to carry insurance unconstitutional.

Vaccination rates

Association Between Medicaid Reimbursement and Child Influenza Vaccination Rates Byung-Kwang Yoo, MD, PhDa,Andrea Berry, MSa, Megumi Kasajima, BSa,Peter G. Szilagyi, MD, MPHb Departments of a Community and Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York Read the full article here

Multivitamins may disrupt sleep – And is there such a thing as beauty rest?

Millions of Americans take multivitamins daily, looking to get all sorts of health benefits. But when it comes to a good nights sleep, can these pills do a disservice? Read the New York Times story. Speaking of sleep, the Washington Post explores new research that validates the idea that people who get a good nights sleep do look more attractive. John Axelsson from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and colleagues studied 23 subjects ages 18 to 31. They were photographed between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on two occasions once after getting a normal nights sleep of eight hours and…