Techology Saves Infant's Lives

http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/48640232.html

A medical advancement known as "whole-body therapeutic hypothermia", which was once experimental, is now more commonly used at St. Joseph's Hospital.

TWith the help of a new machine, an infant's core body temperature is cooled to 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Doctors say that lowering the body temperature to such an extreme can reduce inflammation and swelling, which may limit cell damage. A similar procedure was conducted on football player Kevin Everett after he was seriously injured in a game giving him the gift of being able to walk again.

Metoclopramide Deemed Safe for Fetuses

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090610185524.htm

Between 50 percent to 80 percent of pregnant women experience severe nausea and vomiting during the first trimester and beyond. Metoclopramide, a drug used to treat sever vomiting and nausea in pregnant women was concluded as being safe and not harmful for fetuses. According to Dr. Rafael Gorodischer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, "Metoclopramide is the drug of choice in Europe and Israel for "morning sickness-like" symptoms of nausea and vomiting, which are common in pregnant women. However, in the United States, the drug is only used in the most severe cases, as it is an "off-label" use for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

According to epidemiologist Dr. Amalia Levy of the BGU Faculty of Health Sciences, and chairwoman of the BeMORE collaboration,

Of the vast majority of medications approved for use, there is insufficient data from human studies to determine whether the benefits of therapy exceed the risk to the fetus. Medicines are approved for use only after there is sufficient scientific evidence demonstrating the drug safety and effectiveness for its intended uses. There is extensive experience with the use of this medication in non-pregnant persons, with evidence of overall low rates of adverse effects when it is used as recommended.

False Tests for Rare Bacteria May Lead to Infant Fatality

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31414459/ns/health-pregnancy/#storyContinued

A high rate of false test results have emerged and led some infants to miss out on treatments. Group B strep, a common bacteria carried in the intestines or lower genital tract, can be spread to babies during delivery. Though it is harmless to most adults, newborns infected can be diagnosed with severe blood infections, pneumonia, meningitis, mental retardation or hearing and vision loss, and death.

A study found the test missed more of the infections than would normally be expected. If the mothers had tested positive for the Group B strep bacteria, they would have been given antibiotics during labor to cut the chances of infecting their babies. It is a rare problem which occurs in less than 1 in 3,000 births, but the infection's severe risks drove the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and doctor groups in 2002 to recommend routine tests of all pregnant women.

Lawmaker Makes Harming A Fetus A Crime

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31377259/#storyContinued

Republican Sen. Bruce Starr wants Oregon to join 36 other states and the federal government a crime to harm a fetus. The bill would make a crime of assault on an unborn child unlawful and expand criminal homicide to include the death of an unborn child.

Just recently, Heather Snively was found dead in the crawl space of a home, and her fetus had been cut from her womb. A woman has been charged with murder in Snively's death. Under Oregon law, an infant must have drawn a breath to meet the legal threshold for murder charges to be brought. The district attorney is reviewing autopsy results on the infant in last week's attack to determine whether he was born alive.

In a recent statement, Starr said "I believe that in the eyes of Oregonians, the killer of Heather Snively deserves to be tried not just for the death of Heather, but for the death of her son...New life deserves all the protection the law will provide."

Mom Sues Company For Incorrect Gender Prediction

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/06/16/2009-06-16_babygender_id_failed_us_moms.html#ixzz0JARTrXYk&D

The Baby Gender Mentor Kit, made by Acu-Gen Biolab, a Massachusetts firm owned by C.N. Wang, failed to produce accurate gender results for a Manhattan mom. After advertising the kit as "infallibly accurate" and "99.9% accurate" in predicting a baby's gender and promising a "200% money back guarantee", Lorelei Fitzgerald and Brittany Hayes took the chance and paid roughly $275 for the kit and results. While the kit predicated both moms to give birth to baby boys, ultrasound results proved both of them to have conceived baby girls. The women had already spent money on the nursuries and personal items for their babies and now that their heart was set on having boys, they were told that they would be having girls.

"None of them would say, 'Take my baby away' or 'I don't want this baby' - they love their babies," Gainey said. "But when you rely on something and you pay for it, you have a right for it to be true."

6 moms are suing the makers of the kit for incorrect predictions.