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March of Dimes Launches 7th Annual Prematurity Awareness Month

The March of Dimes has launched its 7th Annual Prematurity Awareness Month, once again focusing our attention on the growing problem of premature birth in the United States.  A birth is considered premature if it occurs before 37 weeks gestation.

The March of Dimes is the leading non-profit organization in the United States focusing its attention on our nation’s babies.  The March of Dimes web site provides extensive information for parents, professionals and researchers alike.

According to a report released by the March of Dimes in October, more than 13 million babies worldwide are born premature.  More than one million die each year.

“Too many U.S. babies are born too soon each year and don’t live to celebrate their first birthday.  This finding underscores the importance of supporting research to help us learn what causes preterm birth and how we can help give all babies a healthy start in life,” said Alan R. Fleischman, MD, medical director of the March of Dimes.

“No parent should ever have to experience the pain of losing a child from prematurity.”

The infant death rate in the United States is significantly higher than Europe. More than 540,000 premature babies are born each year.  The Institute of Medicine estimates that the premature births generate $26 billion in annual health care costs.

Premature birth is a leading cause of infant death.  Babies who are born early often have many health challenges including breathing problems, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and others.  Medical advances made through the efforts of the March of Dimes have led to millions of premature babies fighting for survival until they are able to go home with their parents and then grow into healthy adults with lives of purpose.

The 2009 Premature Birth Report Card will be released later this month grading our nation and individual states on their preterm birth rates.  The report will also assess states’ progress on improving access to health care coverage for women of childbearing age, helping women quit smoking during pregnancy and preventing c-sections prior to 39 weeks of pregnancy.  Improvement in these areas should lead to reduced preterm birth rates.

Please visit the March of Dimes to learn more about preventing premature birth and to show your support by starting a Baby Band in honor of, or in memory of, the premature babies in your family.

         

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Shocking Maternal death rate for women in Pakistan

Presently in Pakistan there are more than 500 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, in Balochistan it’s 673.

30,000 women a year lose their lives during childbirth and elderly family members are often left to take care of motherless babies.

Women’s status in Pakistan is low, many are forced to marry as young as 12 or 13 and contraception is demonised by myth within the culture. Many men believe, for instance, they will become impotent if they use a condom.

Sons are desired, so families of 10 to 15 children are common and women have little say in the matter.

The vast majority of women in Pakistan - more than 80% - give birth at home. The only help many of them can afford is from one of the untrained traditional birth attendants who are called, “Dais.”

Dais have no medical training and no equipment. Learning the skills usually from their own mothers.

A BBC reporter asked a Dai why so many women died in childbirth: “There are two main reasons,

“One is transport. If there are problems and women have to go to a clinic, they go by donkey cart and the roads are bumpy. And the second reason is that some doctors tell women they have had a girl. The shock can kill them.”

Dais are reported to put fresh herbs inside the uterus after a birth. Others, are reported to insert cow dung.

45 percent of Pakistani women suffer from iron deficiency that results in stillbirths, birth defects, mental retardation and infant deaths. Haemorrhage, hypertension, unsafe abortions, infections and prolonged labour are other factors contributing to the higher mortality rate among women in rural areas on top of a dearth of doctors and midwives.

The National Health Policy aims to reduce the maternal mortality rate to 250 per 100,000 live births by 2010.

         

Designer babies for sale in L.A.

Designer babies are closer to reality, choosing eye color, skin complexion, sex, hair color and more may be the future of today.

A Los Angeles clinic, “Fertility Institutes” claims it will shortly help couples select gender and physical traits in a baby when they undergo a form of fertility treatment called, “PGD”.

The procedure called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, (PGD) has been used for the medical purpose of averting life-threatening diseases in children, the science behind it has quietly progressed sideways to the point that it could potentially be used to create designer babies.

Whether Fertility Institutes are able to deliver on its claims of trait selection is unclear, though what is clear is that state or federal regulations in the U.S. will not thwart any attempts made. Their website claims that, “PREDICTIVE GENOMICS” will be available shortly.

PGD is a technique whereby a three-day-old embryo, consisting of about six cells, is tested in a lab to see if it carries a particular genetic disease. Embryos free of that disease are implanted in the mother’s womb. Introduced in the 1990s, it has allowed thousands of parents to avoid passing on deadly disorders to their children.

In a recent U.S. survey of 999 people who sought genetic counseling, a majority said they supported prenatal genetic tests for the elimination of certain serious diseases. The survey found that 56 percent supported using them to counter blindness and 75 percent for mental retardation.

More provocatively, about 10 percent of respondents said they would want genetic testing for athletic ability, while another 10 percent voted for improved height. Nearly 13 percent backed the approach to select for superior intelligence, according to the survey conducted by researchers at the New York University School of Medicine.

Embryo screening, for example, is sometimes used to create a genetically matched “savior sibling” — a younger sister or brother whose healthy cells can be harvested to treat an older sibling with a serious illness.

http://www.fertility-docs.com/