Childbirth
Birth size linked to weight gain and inflammation
The results of a study published in the European Heart Journal indicate there is an association between lower birth weight and greater weight gain from childhood to adulthood and with low-grade inflammation in adulthood.
“Impaired fetal growth and growth during infancy or childhood may trigger inflammatory pathways leading to activated low-grade inflammation in adulthood,” Dr. Paul Elliott, of Imperial College London, UK, and colleagues write. They suggest that this inflammation may be an “intermediate factor” that links impaired fetal growth and cardiovascular disease, a relationship that has been previously found.
Using data from a study in northern Finland that began in 1966, the researchers examined the relationships between fetal growth, weight gain from childhood to adulthood, and low-grade inflammation measured by blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a “biomarker” for inflammation, meaning higher than normal levels suggest inflammation is occurring.
Birth Weight: Set And Match
Two independent pieces of research published in this week’s Nature (Vol. 417, No. 6892 27 June 2002) could explain why some babies are born small, and could also lend credence to evolutionary theories about the competition between male and female genes.
Babies with low birth weights are more likely to die as newborns and have an increased chance of physical or mental development problems. Low birth weight is also linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and respiratory problems later in life.
Nigerian women hurt in childbirth slowly find hope
Soueiba Salisu endured the pains of childbirth for four days and four nights in a mud-brick house in her remote Nigerian village before her family, fearing for her life, took her to hospital.
When she arrived after hours of travel on unpaved tracks, doctors performed a caesarean section but it was too late. The baby was stillborn, and a few days later 15-year-old Salisu started leaking urine.
Baby born to brain dead American woman dies
A baby girl born last month to a brain dead Virginia woman died early on Monday following surgery, according to a statement on a family Web site.
“With great sadness, we are asking for your prayers for the repose of the soul of 5-week-old baby Susan Ann Torres. She passed away last night after surgery for a perforated intestine,” the statement said.
Nigerian women hurt in childbirth slowly find hope
Soueiba Salisu endured the pains of childbirth for four days and four nights in a mud-brick house in her remote Nigerian village before her family, fearing for her life, took her to hospital.
When she arrived after hours of travel on unpaved tracks, doctors performed a Caesarean section but it was too late. The baby was stillborn, and a few days later 15-year-old Salisu started leaking urine.
UK baby death expert faces misconduct hearing
A British doctor who gave evidence at the trial of several women wrongly convicted of murdering their children faced charges of serious professional misconduct on Tuesday.
Paediatrician Sir Roy Meadow appeared at a hearing of the General Medical Council (GMC) in London and could be banned from practising if found guilty.
Meadow was an expert witness in the trial of Sally Clark, Angela Cannings and Donna Anthony, who were all freed by the Court of Appeal after serving years in prison after they had been wrongfully convicted of killing their children.
Premature birth could have genetic component
A woman has a higher risk of delivering a premature baby if a relative has also given birth too early, and there may be a way to determine risk by analyzing genes, researchers said on Monday.
Premature birth is “the No. 1 problem in obstetrics today and the incidence continues to grow,” said Dr. Kenneth Ward, chairman of the department of obstetrics-gynecology at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine and lead author of a study using genetic databases compiled by Utah’s Mormon population.
“There is an underappreciated genetic component to the problem,” he said at a meeting here of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
