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Baby
A neonatal intensive care unit, commonly referred to as a NICU, is a special unit in a hospital dedicated to caring for premature or ill newborns. The staff in such units typically has specialized training that enables them to care for these...
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Baby
Every parent wonders from time to time if their child is developmentally on track, but parents of premature children may have serious concerns that their child is delayed. They will see their friends’ children of the same age taking their first...
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Baby
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 500,000 babies are born prematurely each year. Of these tiny patients, about half will be diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP. In ROP, the blood vessels in the...
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Baby
Premature infants are at risk for a variety of lung problems and diseases, in part because infants can survive birth at earlier ages than ever before. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, infants today “consistently” survive birth at...
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Baby
Having a premature baby in the NICU is a difficult situation for any parent — and it’s unfortunately common. Approximately one out of every 10 babies are born prematurely each year, keeping the NICUs around the country very busy. While it’s natural...
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Baby
Even as medicine is getting better at helping premature infants survive and thrive, these early arrivals often have initial challenges, one of which is called anemia of prematurity. Premature infants are those born at less than 37 weeks gestation....
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Baby
A neonatal intensive care unit, commonly referred to as a NICU, is a special unit in a hospital dedicated to caring for premature or ill newborns. If your baby is admitted to the NICU, depending on your baby’s health and complications,...
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Baby
In the United States, 2-3 out of every 1,000 babies are born with a hearing deficit, according to the National Institutes of Health. Fortunately, all newborns are screened at birth for hearing loss, which helps identify babies that need early...
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Pregnancy
While it is true that we don’t completely understand why labor really begins, there are some things that can make your chance of giving birth preterm — or before 37 weeks gestation — much more likely. Here’s a list of issues that can lead to...
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Baby
Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease—and in many cases, women who have chlamydia don’t suffer from any symptoms. If symptoms are present, they can include vaginal discharge, bleeding after sex, or itching and burning during...
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Pregnancy
As your due date nears, you might be wondering how your body decides one day that it is time to give birth. What exactly kicks things off, and why do some women give birth on their due date while others seem to stay pregnant forever until they are...
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Baby
If you were about to deliver a baby and your doctor or midwife told you there was a technique you could implement that would help your baby stay calmer, improve your confidence with breastfeeding, and make your newborn baby’s vital signs more...
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Pregnancy
There’s no question that pregnant women who smoke are putting their unborn babies in danger. The negative consequences associated with smoking during pregnancy include ectopic pregnancy, problems with the placenta, preterm delivery, and...
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Pregnancy
The abbreviation PPROM stands for preterm premature rupture of membranes. This is when the amniotic sac, or bag of waters, breaks before 37 weeks’ gestation and before labor has started. This complication affects approximately 3 percent of...
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Pregnancy
A preterm birth happens when a woman gives birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy. With this issue complicating about 12 percent of all pregnancies in the United States, many parents wonder how it could affect their future pregnancies. For the woman...
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Pregnancy
In October 2013, the American College of Obstetricians/Gynecologists (ACOG) issued an updated definition for term pregnancies. The updated definitions are significant because they change when pregnancies are classified as “full term.” Prior to the...
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Baby
You know that most childcare experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend breastfeeding for the first six months of life whenever possible. But what’s so special about breast milk anyway? Lots of living cells — Breast milk is...
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Baby
Once they become familiar with it, most parents are interested in skin-to-skin contact with their babies shortly after birth—even if they don’t know exactly why it’s so good for them and their baby. But rest assured: there is real science behind...
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Pregnancy
Preterm labor is defined as labor that starts between 20 and 37 weeks of pregnancy. Approximately 10 percent of babies are born preterm in the United States. This can be an overwhelmingly scary time, especially if you are earlier in your pregnancy....
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Pregnancy
At some point after your baby is born, your doctor or midwife will place two clamps on the umbilical cord. He or she (or your partner, if they want to) will then use scissors to cut between the clamps and separate your baby from the placenta. If...
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Pregnancy
Experiencing a preterm birth for the first time can be a scary, stressful experience. Whether you delivered at 24 weeks or 34 weeks of pregnancy, bringing a baby into the world sooner than you were mentally prepared for can really make thinking...
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Pregnancy
Your thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland that is located in the front of your neck. Its job is to produce thyroid hormones that help regulate your metabolism, and these hormones affect many organs in your body. Having too much or too little...
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Pregnancy
If you’re feeling like you’re pretty over this pregnancy thing already, you wouldn’t be alone: lots of moms at this point are tired of all the symptoms, the mobility issues, and generally just sharing their body with their new roommate. But don’t...
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Pregnancy
Once you get a positive pregnancy test, you will probably start wondering how your new baby is going to affect all the aspects of your life. For women who work outside the home, many start to think about when to tell their bosses they are pregnant...
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Pregnancy
As of 2015 in the United States, about 9.5 percent of all babies are born preterm, meaning they were born at less than 37 weeks gestation. We know that being born preterm can lead to multiple complications for a new baby, such as problems with...
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Pregnancy
Fibroids are non-cancerous solid tumors that grow in the uterus. They are extremely common, with up to 70-80 percent of women having them by the time they are 50 years old. Most of the time they cause no problems and are only discovered because an...
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Pregnancy
A cervical exam is when your doctor or midwife inserts two fingers into your vagina to assess your cervix. This can be done at a prenatal visit if you are having contractions or are close to your due date, or when you are in labor to see how your...
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Pregnancy
Smoking cigarettes and pregnancy do not mix. While most expectant mothers know this, it can still be hard to quit. The good news is that many women find being pregnant is the final motivator they need to kick the habit. In fact, almost half of...
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Pregnancy
Welcome to Week 33! You’re now less than two months away from your due date. It won’t be long until you’re on weekly visits to your healthcare provider, and it will seem like everything is about to happen all at once. Until then, remember to...
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Pregnancy
Streptococcus agalactiae, otherwise known as Group B Strep (GBS), is a bacteria that approximately 20-25 percent of pregnant women have in their vagina and rectum. Carrying this bacteria does not mean that you acquired a sexually transmitted...
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Pregnancy
If you are pregnant with your first baby, your doctor or midwife has likely told you that contractions can be a sign of labor and that at a certain point, you should come to the hospital to be seen. But how exactly do you time them, and how do you...
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Pregnancy
The countdown has begun: three weeks left to go. But don’t wish your pregnancy over quite yet. At 37 weeks, your baby is still not considered full term. As recently as October 2013, a baby born at 37 weeks was “full term,” according to the American...
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Pregnancy
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Pregnancy
HELLP syndrome, also considered a possible variant of preeclampsia, is a life-threatening complication that usually occurs during pregnancy’s later stages or even up to a week after childbirth. The acronym HELLP describes what happens to women when...
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Pregnancy
Meconium aspiration syndrome, or MAS, occurs when a fetus inhales fecal material—called meconium—into the lungs from the surrounding amniotic fluid. Meconium is the term for the dark green, thick stool that a newborn usually passes in utero or soon...
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Health
Hepatoblastoma, a liver cancer, is a very rare condition in children, with an estimated 0.9 per 1 million children experiencing the condition, according to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Hepatoblastoma is most commonly diagnosed in children from...
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Blog
As pediatric residents, we would mark off each season of the year for the diseases we encountered. The cooler fall weather and the viruses shared at the beginning of school triggered the asthmatics to begin coughing. Wintertime inevitably brought...
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Blog
The CDC released its annual “Mortality in the United States” report in December, and it offered some good news for infants. According to the report, the infant mortality rate decreased 2.3 percent in 2014 to a new historic low of 582.1 infant...
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Blog
Pediatricians are not generally known for being outspoken politically. For the most part, our work focuses on children locally and child wellness and safety globally more than on federal policy. According to the American Board of Pediatrics, the...
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Toddler
In the last few years, a wave of high quality research has come out showing just how profoundly positive exposure to music and music education is for babies and developing brains. Much of this new study has focused on premature babies, especially...
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Baby
Science may have finally determined the answer to the age-old question of why babies get hiccups so often. New parents often note that newborns hiccup several times per day. Sometimes, they hiccup so often that parents become concerned their babies...