Bleeding in infant brain common in vaginal births
About one quarter of infants delivered in vaginally have a small amount of bleeding in their brains, while none delivered by Caesarean section do, according to the results of a study published Tuesday.
But the researchers, at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, said it was premature to view these “surprising” findings as an endorsement of C-sections. Plus this study was relatively small.
Taste for salt can begin at birth
Some people with a penchant for salty snacks may have been born with it, a new study suggests.
In a study of 41 children and teenagers who’d been born prematurely, researchers found that those who’d had low sodium levels in their blood at birth had a particular fondness for salty food.
In tests where the children could choose from salty or sweet snacks, those born with low sodium levels reached for a salty snack more often. They also consumed substantially more sodium each day, based on interviews with children and their parents.
Oldest woman to give birth may have deceived clinic
The oldest woman ever to give birth deceived doctors to get the fertility treatment that let her have twins at age 67 last month, a Sunday newspaper said.
Carmela Bousada, who gave birth to twins Christian and Pau on December 29, convinced a Los Angeles clinic she was 55, the cut-off age for their in-vitro fertilization program, the News of the World said.
“They didn’t ask for my age or my passport. I may look tired now but before the births I did look slim and a lot younger,” the newspaper quoted Bousada as saying in an interview.
Heart drug may improve preterm labor outcomes
Treatment with transdermal nitroglycerin can prolong pregnancy in women who go into labor prematurely and its use seems to reduce illness in the newborn, a study shows.
While a number of drugs called tocolytics that block uterine contractions can prolong pregnancy, “none have been shown to improve neonatal outcomes,” lead author Dr. Graeme N. Smith, from the Kingston General Hospital in Canada, told Reuters Health.
