Birth weight

Preterm Infants Fed Prolacta’s 100% Human Milk-Based Fortifiers Achieved Catch-Up Growth by Age 2 with Appropriate Neurodevelopmental Outcomes, Study Says

Retrieved on: 
Monday, June 1, 2020
Neonatology, Childhood, Infancy, Health, Medical specialties, Preterm birth, Neonatal intensive care unit, Birth weight, Infant, Late preterm infant

Authored by Erynn M. Bergner, M.D., and colleagues, the new study2 is the first to concurrently evaluate long-term neurodevelopmental, growth, and body composition outcomes of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Key Points: 
  • Authored by Erynn M. Bergner, M.D., and colleagues, the new study2 is the first to concurrently evaluate long-term neurodevelopmental, growth, and body composition outcomes of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
  • Researchers found:
    Preterm infants receiving Prolactas 100% human milk-based fortifiers returned to birth z-scores for weight, length, and head circumference by age 2.
  • A similar percentage of body fat and lean mass in preterm infants at age 2, compared to matched term controls, with adequate bone mineralization.
  • Bergner et al2 evaluated the post-discharge growth, body composition, and neurodevelopmental outcomes of a cohort of infants 1,250 g birth weight who received Prolactas fortifiers as part of an EHMD in the NICU.

Study Develops Updated National Birth Weight Reference

Retrieved on: 
Friday, June 14, 2019
Midwifery, Obstetrics, Neonatology, Health, Medical specialties, Articles, Gestational age, Birth weight

BOSTON, June 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new paper provides an updated national birth weight reference for the United States using the most recent, nationally representative birth data.

Key Points: 
  • BOSTON, June 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new paper provides an updated national birth weight reference for the United States using the most recent, nationally representative birth data.
  • The study, " A 2017 US reference for singleton birth weight percentiles using obstetric estimates of gestation ," led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, appears in the June 14 issue of Pediatrics online.
  • Investigators conducted this project to create an updated reference for clinicians and researchers using the most recent, nationally representative data on birth weight and more reliable obstetric estimates of gestational age.
  • The study team used data on over 3 million live births from the 2017 U.S. Natality files, a database of U.S. birth certificates publicly available from the National Vital Statistics System of the National Center for Health Statistics.

New Study Identifies Potential Treatment For Higher Rate Of Preterm Birth Among African American Women

Retrieved on: 
Monday, March 25, 2019
Women's health, Neonatology, Childhood, RTT, Obstetrics, Health, Human reproduction, Infancy, Preterm birth, Gestational age, Pregnancy, Birth weight

"We're hopeful that this method of diagnosing and moderating the microbiome to create a protective effect may become a new treatment for African American women in the immediate future."

Key Points: 
  • "We're hopeful that this method of diagnosing and moderating the microbiome to create a protective effect may become a new treatment for African American women in the immediate future."
  • The authors suggest this information could help physicians better predict preterm birth, especially for African-American women early in pregnancy.
  • Some bacteria are associated with the significantly higher preterm birth rate among African American women in the United States.
  • The rate of preterm birth (defined as birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy) among black women in the United States is 49 percent higher than the rate among all other women.More than 20 percent of premature babies are born to black women -- that's 1 in 5 U.S. babies.