Articles labeled: premature babies

As parents of a preemie ourselves (he was born at 32 weeks), a recent study has done nothing to reduce our already irrational hand wringing and paranoia. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that besides the obvious risks premature babies face when they are born, they may have health problems that extend into adulthood:

Women born prematurely are at greater risk of themselves giving birth preterm or having stillborn children, and their babies have higher rates of death in the first year.

The earlier babies were born, the greater their risk of all these problems, according to the study, which included detailed records from more than 1 million Norwegians born between 1967 and 1988. The study “reminds us that prematurity is a very significant health problem that lasts a lifetime,” says David Adamkin, a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, who was not involved in the paper.

In an editorial that accompanies the study, researchers Melissa Adams and Wanda Barfield say doctors might be able to better identify and manage chronic conditions if they know a patient was born prematurely.

Adamkin, the director of newborn medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, says the study reinforces the need to reduce preterm birth. The U.S. preterm birth rate — 12.7% — has increased 20% since 1990, the March of Dimes says.

Our youngest was born 8 weeks early, and let me tell you — having your infant in the NICU for several weeks isn’t as much fun as it sounds. So thanks, Mr. Gates, this seems like money well spent.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $1 million to Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute to study ways to prevent premature births and stillbirths worldwide.

The money is paying for research by the newly established Office for Prevention of Prematurity and Stillbirth at Children’s, which is partnering with researchers and investigators from around the world to gather information about the prevalence of premature births and stillbirths.

They will take information from medical literature, registries and vital statistic databases and use the information to figure out how to combat the problem, said Dr. Craig Rubens, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and director of the office.