Your viewing articles about; premature baby

Australian Premature Baby Gets Pacemaker Bigger Than Body Fitted

A tiny baby born in Australia has become the world’s first person to be fitted with a pacemaker larger than her body.

Taylor Gardner was born on May 25 at just 26 weeks, and weighed just over a pound. Her heart began to fail within hours of her delivery, and forced doctors to try fitting an external pacemaker. They hope to fit a more suitable pacemaker when she is a few months older.

It is the first time that a premature baby has been fitted with an external pacemaker.

Dr. Alex Veldman said “It is a bit like flying to the moon — you have to try something that was never attempted before,”

Mother, Rebecca said “It was heart-wrenching, but I wanted her to survive because she is my 11th pregnancy and I only had one child,”

“She’s a fighter and she is feisty. Even though she has such tiny hands, I reckon all the nurses are wrapped around her little finger.”

For baby Taylor to have an internal pacemaker, she will need to weigh between 3 and 6 pounds, and could take three months until she is ready for the procedure.

         

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Baby Dies 24 Hours After Mother Dies From Swine Flu

The newborn son of a mother who was Britain’s first swine flu death has died.

Jacqui Fleming, 38, died on Sunday after giving birth to her son Jack at the start of the month. Jack was born three months prematurely near Glasgow at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

24-hours after passing away, Jack lost his battle for life.

His father, William McCann, said in a statement: “My beautiful son was born June 1, 2009 — 11 weeks early,”

“He suffered from a number of complications and despite his brave fight he passed away earlier this evening. Coming so soon after the death of his mom, this is an extremely distressing and difficult time for our family and I would ask the media to respect our privacy as we try to cope with the loss of Jacqueline and Jack.”

There are now 1,200 cases of swine flu reported in the UK.

         

Low Birth Weight Babies More Likely To Have High Blood Pressure As Adults

New research has found that babies who are born underweight are more likely to have high blood pressure problems as adults.

Dr. Gerald Berenson has been part of a team studying the health of around 15,000 people in a small rural town in Louisiana over the last 35 years.

He has found that the average birth weight of black babies is lower than for white babies. He found that the health and financial circumstances of the mother did not make a difference.

Berenson said “They are… lighter by a few hundred grams in the blacks compared to whites,”

“So right off, there is a difference in birth weights, and males tend to have heavier birth weights than do females.”

It has been known that underweight babies may have more health problems during their infancy. Low birth weight is considered to be below 2,500 grams at birth.

The study found that babies which were born with a low birth rate had a higher chance of having high blood pressure when in their 30s and 40s.

“It may be because they begin to get higher blood pressure as people get older. And the effect of the low birth weight may become exaggerated at that point.” Berenson commented.

“We know that smoking, for example, affects the blood vessels in the placenta. We know that alcohol is bad,” Berenson he added.

“General nutrition, particularly in the early trimester, is very critical. That development in the early period of gestation is… is very important. So a baby in utero, early in development, is showing the effects of the environment.”

         

Premature Baby Leaves Hospital After 3 1/2 Years

A baby girl who was born premature at 24 weeks has finally been allowed to leave hospital - after 3 ½ years.

Angelina Parker spent six months in a neonatal intensive care unit in Oklahoma City. She then spent three years at a rehabilitation hospital in Bethany.

She is now able to breathe on her own, and is able to walk. However, it is unlikely that she will be able to talk due to her vocal cords being damaged by a breathing tube in her first few months.

Angelina was take home by her mother Erin Francisco this week, and joins her 4 year old sister and 2 year old brother.

She has been provided with a machine that is able to talk for her.