New Study Reveals Nearly 55% of US Infants are Sleeping With Potentially Unsafe Bedding Despite warnings against it, a new study finds that over half of US infants are still placed to sleep with bedding that increases their risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sleep-related suffocation. “Parents have good intentions,” says study author Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s Division of Reproductive Health, “but may not understand that blankets quilts and pillows increase a baby’s risk of SIDS and accidental suffocation.” The Safe to Sleep campaign advises not using blankets or other coverings but recommends using sleep clothing such as a one-piece sleeper and keeping the room at a comfortable temperature. Read more about the National Institutes of Health (NIH), CDC study here.
A Complicated Issue: Should Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women Eat Fish? A survey conducted earlier this year found that pregnant women were not eating much fish due to a fear of mercury consumption, which could cause them to have a less than adequate intake of certain omega 3 fatty acids. Read here for information on this subject from a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, who has published a Viewpoint in the November 2014 issue of American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology entitled, “The FDA’s new advice on fish: it’s complicated.” D. Wenstrom.
Hospital Websites Not Providing Significant Information for Pregnant Women Concerning Tdap Vaccination and Whooping Cough Prevention Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial infection which is serious if not fatal to newborns. A study of Michigan birthing hospitals found that the majority of them had no information on their website about the Tdap vaccination to prevent whooping cough and those that did have information it was not obvious. “Rather than burying information about infant pertussis prevention in archived pages, birthing hospitals should identify a prominent location to provide specific information about the importance of Tdap vaccination for pregnant women, family members, and others who will be in close contact with a newborn”, said the study’s lead author. Read more here.
Congenital Heart Disease in Pregnant Women May Not Mean High Complication Risks During Delivery Though previous research has found that childbirth is a time of increased risk for complications in women with congenital heart disease, recent research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2014 has found that pregnant women with congenital heart disease had very low risks of arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) or other heart-related complications during labor and delivery. Read about the study here.
This News Roundup compiled and co-authored by Jean Kurnik, MA.
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