Mother-to-be Michal Friedman was scheduled for surgery in a Manhattan hospital for November 28, but when doctors found her blood pressure was elevated in her November 27 pre-op appointment, they rescheduled her for a same-day surgery.

Doctors performed a C-section on Friedman. After the surgery, she hemorrhaged. As her husband watched, her condition steadily declined, prompting doctors to request he leave the room. At 9:30 p.m., doctors informed him of the death of his wife.

C-sections have become so common that many people do not consider that the procedure is a surgical one, and with all surgeries, there are risks.

In C-sections, the most common cause of death is bleeding. It can be fast and severe and by the time doctors attempt to address it, it can be too late.

The procedure also comes with risk of bladder injury, infection, bowel injuries and blood clots.

Perhaps Frieman’s C-section prevented potential brain injuries or other birth defects in her newborn twins. It is heartbreaking that she had to pay for that safety with her life.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – birth injury attorneys

The study, published in the Dec. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that the current guidelines, which suggest prenatal steroids be administered to women who are at risk for delivering between the 24^th and 34^th week of pregnancy, can be expanded to the 23^rd week.

The steroids help the infants with lung development, which increases the odds of survival and reduces the risk of brain injury.

Dr. Wally Carlo, director of the division of neonatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, authored the newly published study.

“When given as early as 23 weeks, prenatal or antenatal steroids reduce an infant’s risk of death and important developmental issues,” said Dr. Carlo.

Currently there is an absence of clear guidelines directing the use of prenatal steroids. According to the study, about 40 percent of women who showed signs of preterm labor at 23 weeks were not treated with steroids.

“There is a huge potential to increase the use of prenatal steroids,” said Dr. Carlo. “Mothers need to know that there is a lot that physicians can do to improve the outcome for these babies.”

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – birth injury attorneys

“That means that overall rates of cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities are on the rise,” says David Rowitch, chief of neonatology at the University of California, San Francisco.

According to Rowitch, lack of oxygen is the chief cause of brain injury in premature infants. White matter, where the “communication highways” reside, carrying messages through the brain and to the body, is damaged by oxygen deprivation.

Rowitch originally discovered the white matter damage by examining dead infants, but recently has been able to take over 250 premature babies through an MRI by using a special incubator designed to go through the scanner. This allows scientists to detect damage to white matter immediately.

Now that scientists can detect the damage, they need a way to prevent or repair it.

Though some treatments are still years away from human trials, there are some available now, including magnetic stimulation of certain areas of the brain and temporarily lowering the body temperature of the premature infants.

Was your child born premature? Did they suffer any birth defects or brain injuries?

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – Birth trauma lawyers

The study found that most U.S. childhood deaths occur during the neonatal period and most neonatal deaths are caused by a decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining measures. Of the 414 infant deaths studied, 45 percent were due to major birth defects. Seventeen percent of these infants were very preterm and 35 percent of deaths were of very preterm births without congenital birth defects or brain injury, said the study.

The study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that during the 10-year period, 61.6 percent of infant deaths followed withdrawal of treatment, 20.8 percent followed withholding of treatment and 17.6 percent died despite attempted resuscitation.

Admission diagnoses for the Children’s Mercy Hospital were placed into three categories: very preterm, congenital anomaly and other including children being born after 32 weeks without congenital anomalies. Although the study found no change in frequency of withdrawal of treatment, there was a significant increase in withholding of treatment for very preterm infants.

Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP. – birth trauma lawyers

The study, published in PLoS Medicine, looked at the relationship between flu vaccination and the risk of premature birth before 37 weeks gestation and babies born small for gestational age. Researchers studies 4,168 women who gave birth between 2004 and 2006. The study found that vaccinated mothers were 40% less likely to have a premature birth. During the eight weeks of the most widespread flu activity, the risk of premature birth was about 70% lower among vaccinated mothers than among mothers who did not receive the flu vaccine during their pregnancy.

Mothers who received the flu vaccine during pregnancy were 69% less likely to give birth to a low birth weight infant. This research did not indicated if a flu vaccine during pregnancy could lead to birth defects. The study was observational only that found an association between flu vaccination during pregnancy and reduced risk of premature birth and low birth weight. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings. A http://www.birthtraumalawblog.com/?p=5033 According to MSNBC, premature birth may run in families. Tammy George was a small baby even before her mother went into labor 11 weeks early. The doctors worried she was not receiving enough nutrition in the womb. In the delivery room, Tammy weighed less than a loaf of bread. In the 1970s, a premature baby that small, 1 pound, 8 ounces, had very slim chances of survival. According to new studies, genetic links suggest that there may be a link between premature births and family history.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 3 of every 25 babies are delivered prematurely. Premature babies face a lot of developmental risks, but diabetes could lead to other risk factors such as high blood pressure.

The research team, along with Dr. Casey Crump of Stanford University, used a national prescription database to track the use of diabetes medications by 630,000 people in Sweden born between 1973 and 1979. Roughly 28,000 of those individuals were born premature, the study found.

Crump’s team found that 15 out of 100 preemies developed diabetes by the time they were in their twenties and thirties. Majority of the cases were type 1 diabetes, requiring insulin without oral medication.

Crump said that it is unclear why early birth associated with diabetes, but said that additional research is necessary in that field. It could be that poor nutrition can trigger changes in the baby’s hormones during gestation, which may increase the risk of diabetes. Diabetes is also less common in Sweden than in the U.S, Crump said. The researchers also said that premature babies need to worry about other factors such as family history and obesity, as two thirds of Americans are considered overweight.

The March of Dimes and many medical experts supported KV Pharmaceuticals attempts at getting exclusive government approval. The groups believed it would help with quality and availability of the medication. However, no one suspected that such a major price change would take effect.

Some medical experts and patient-safety advocates fear this drastic new price will have a negative impact on low income families and may lead to an increase in preterm births, instead of helping families avoid the mental and physical disabilities that can come with very premature births. The cost of a newborn preemie baby is estimated at $51,000 during the first year alone. Other concerns are that some insurance companies will not be able to cover Makena or will raise premiums. Perhaps, the state run Medicare programs will drop the preterm labor drug and choose not to cover the outrageous new costs. Many pregnant women depend on Medicare programs, denying to pay for an important prenatal drug could significantly increase preterm births, instead of preventing them.

According to researchers, the bacteria colonizes following the onset of a fetal injury. It contributes to pre-term labor and may cause lifelong underlying health issues for the affected child.

Depending upon the type of bacteria or organisms that form the colony in the placenta, the child may suffer from an increased or decreased risk of systemic inflammatory condition.

Unfortunately, researchers have found that intrauterine infections are the most common cause of pre-term childbirth or other injuries to a growing baby.

The bacteria colonies were discovered via cultures that were taken from the placentas that were delivered prior to the second trimester as well as 41 percent of placentas delivered by caesarean section.

It was noted that the higher levels of pro-inflammatory protein was found in newborns were related to the bacteria that occurs with bacterial vaginosis (also known as bacterial vaginitis.)

One author of the study, Andrew Ondedonk, notes that the colonization of bacteria appears to cause the fetal injury, resulting in the preterm birth; and that this information is verified by the work done in the study.