In this issue of Preemie Matters: New from NICHD: Web-Based CE Program on Reducing SIDS Risk • Free Webcast: Symposium on Quality Improvement to Prevent Prematurity • Lamaze Resources for Expectant Parents: Healthy Birth, Your Way • New Research Explores Connection Between Earthquakes & Preterm Birth • ACOG Opinion on Maternal Depression Could Impact Prematurity Rates
New from NICHD: Web-Based CE Program on Reducing SIDS Risk
NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has launched an online version of their SIDS risk-reduction CE program for nurses. The continuing ed module was developed by NICHD and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), in collaboration with several national nursing and health organizations. It covers the most recent research on SIDS and provides nurses with practical approaches to help new parents and caregivers reduce the risk of SIDS by creating a safe sleep environment. In the near future NICHD will launch a companion website for NICHD nurse partners, offering a variety of materials that nurses can share - including articles, flyers, website buttons and an e-card. Learn more in the NIH virtual newsroom.
Free Webcast: Symposium on Quality Improvement to Prevent Prematurity
Last fall's March of Dimes-hosted Symposium on Quality Improvement to Prevent Prematurity is now available online as a free, on-demand webcast. The live event took place in October 2009 in Arlington, VA and brought together a multidisciplinary group of healthcare practitioners, health insurers, policy makers, health purchasers, regulators and citizens to talk about the role quality improvement plays in preventing prematurity, promoting health and saving costs. What emerged from the gathering was an action agenda for decreasing the rate of preterm births are not inevitable or medically necessary.
Lamaze Resources for Expectant Parents: Healthy Birth, Your Way
Do you know about Lamaze International's "Healthy Birth, Your Way" videos and print material? These resources are accessible, user-friendly tools for expectant parents that share basic information on making choices for a safe and healthy birth. Among the topics are: Let Labor Begin on Its Own, Have Continuous Support, and Avoid Unnecessary Interventions. Content centers around what common sense tells parents and research confirms, as reflected in the six Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices.
New Research Explores Connection Between Earthquakes & Preterm Birth
A new study awaiting completion of peer review extends previous research into a possible connection between significant earthquakes and rates of premature birth in affected parts of the world. The hypothesis: Pregnant women who experience major earthquakes during their first trimester have a slightly increased risk of preemie birth and are slightly more likely to give birth to lower birthweight infants. While the effects are small, they are statistically significant and suggest that earthquakes experienced more than six months before birth can negatively impact a pregnancy's outcomes. The newest research, focusing on births in Chile, follows up on the 2001 landmark study of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was shown to most affect mothers in their first trimester. The "hows" and "whys" of this correlation need much more investigation, but researchers suggest something unique in first-trimester maternal stress caused by the trauma of natural disaster - possibly connected to a burst of corticotropin-releasing hormone, a known stress response. Read more about these studies and see citations here.
ACOG Opinion on Maternal Depression Could Impact Prematurity Rates
A recent Committee Opinion from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has the potential to make a positive impact on the prevention of preterm birth in the US. ACOG is encouraging ob/gyns to screen, refer, and follow up with pregnant women and mothers who have depressive symptoms. Clinical depression is common among reproductive-age women and is the leading cause of disability among American women. Between 14% and 23% of all pregnant women will experience depression. And untreated maternal depression during pregnancy is associated with preterm delivery, low birth weight and preeclampsia.
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Information is reported as provided and does not necessarily represent the view of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition. A complete copy of HMHB's disclaimer is available on our website.