In this issue of Preemie Matters: Save the Date! Join Us for the National Premature Infant Health Coalition Meeting • Your Voice Needed: NIH Conference on Specialized Therapy for Preemies • babyfirst: New Website for the Neonatology Community • NCHS Report: Preterm Birth Rate Declines for Second Consecutive Year • Submit a Proposal for the National Perinatal Association Conference 2010
Save the Date! Join Us for the National Premature Infant Health Coalition Meeting
Join colleagues working with and for families affected by prematurity - as well as local, state and national organizations focusing on this mission - at the National Premature Infant Health Coalition Meeting on June 3, 2010. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lorien Hotel & Spa in Alexandria, Virginia, just two blocks from the King St. metro station. Those arriving in town early will gather the evening prior, June 2 from 5 to 7 p.m. on the rooftop deck of the hotel's Presidential Suite, for a networking reception. To take advantage of The Lorien's block of rooms at $209, book directly with them by May 17 at (877) 956-7436. Be sure to mention your participation in this event when you make reservations. The National Premature Infant Health Coalition is managed by the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition with a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Please RSVP by Monday, May 17, 2010 to Melisa Dilber at mdilber@hmhb.org.
Your Voice Needed: NIH Conference on Specialized Therapy for Preemies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a public event allowing us to better understand the benefits and risks of a specialized treatment for premature infants with respiratory illness. October 27-29 at the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD, NIH will host a Consensus Development Conference, "Inhaled Nitric Oxide Therapy for Premature Infants." Since its approval, researchers have examined expanding the use of inhaled nitric oxide therapy to treat premature babies born at less than 34 weeks' gestation. Studies looking at the therapy's safety and effectiveness for these babies have shown mixed results, and the range of implications aren't yet fully understood. The conference will include a systematic literature review, expert presentations and audience input, allowing an independent panel to prepare a consensus statement. Your input is valuable! Learn more and register online to attend this free event, or sign up to follow the webcast.
babyfirst: New Website for the Neonatology Community
Have you heard? NICUniversity.org has launched a new web-based neonatology resource for both clinicians and parents. Sharing clinical knowledge with a family focus, babyfirst.com provides useful tools for parents, from a glossary demystifying NICU terms to articles on devices and therapies to testimonials of parents who have lived the NICU experience with their own babies. Practitioners can visit babyfirst as a single source for educational material, research papers and lectures from opinion leaders in all specializations of the neonatology field.
NCHS Report: Preterm Birth Rate Declines for Second Consecutive Year
According to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), preterm births in the U.S. are down three percent, marking a second consecutive year of decline. Seventy-nine percent of the decline occurred among late preterm babies. The report, "Births: Preliminary Data for 2008," documents the 2008 preterm birth rate's drop to 12.3 percent, down from the 2007 rate of 12.7 percent - Welcome news after a more than 20 percent increase in U.S. preemie rates between 1990 and 2006. Learn more by downloading the complete report.
Submit a Proposal for the National Perinatal Association Conference 2010
The proposal due-date for the National Perinatal Association (NPA) Conference - set for November 4-6, 2010 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. - has been extended to May 1. NPA's 2010 conference theme, "Bridging Gaps: Healthcare, Ethics, Technologies and Pollitics in Neonatology and Perinatology," invites proposals from families, healthcare professionals and policy makers that engage with the issues and challenges of care for at-risk babies.
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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.