Health News
Babies who are born before the full term of 40 weeks may have health problems later in life, since important brain development takes place in the very last stages of pregnancy. As such, mothers should try to avoid being induced early or having elective C-sections.
A study conducted at the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information found women often don't realize the important development that takes place at the end of pregnancy, write UK doctoral student Sarah Vos and H. Dan O'Hair, dean of the college, for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Evidence shows that early, elective births are expensive. One study found reducing the number of elective births before 39 weeks of gestation to less than 2 percent of all U.S. births would save $1 billion each year.
But many women are uncomfortable at the end of their pregnancy, are anxious to know their children are healthy, and may even ask for early induction of labor because employers aren't flexible about time off. Sometimes doctors and other providers induce women early for their convenience.
Encouraging women to go full term and telling them the disadvantages of early labor ? problems feeding and a higher incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ? can influence their decision. As Vos and O'Hair conclude, "Babies are worth the wait." (Read more)
- Anthem Gives $140,000 For 3-county Program To Cut Smoking By Pregnant Women, Still At 21.9% In Ky., Among Highest In U.s.
Health departments in Christian, Hopkins and Madison counties will start a program called Giving Infants and Families Tobacco Free Starts, with a $140,000 grant to the state health department from the Anthem Foundation. The GIFTS program was created to...
- Expectant Mothers Need To Get A Flu Shot
Expectant mothers need to get a flu shot as soon as it is available in their area, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only the flu shot, not the nasal-spray vaccine, is recommended for pregnant women because it is made with the inactivated...
- Anthem Gives Hospital Group Grant To Improve Perinatal Care, Including Discouraging Early, Medically Unnecessary Deliveries
The foundation of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has awarded nearly $259,000 to an arm of the Kentucky Hospital Association to improve perinatal care and outcomes for mothers and their babies by discouraging early, medically unnecessary deliveries...
- U.s. Preterm Birth Rate Goes Down But Kentucky's Maternal Smoking Rate Still Second Highest, Putting Preterm Babies At Risk
For the fifth year in a row, the preterm birth rate in the United States has dropped. Which is great news. But Kentucky again had a significantly high smoking rate for expectant mothers -- at 32.2 percent, putting us behind only West Virginia (at 36 percent)...
- Kentucky Doctor Honored For Her Work In Bolstering Health And Preventing Deaths Of Babies Born A Few Weeks Early
A Kentucky neonatalogist was honored this week for giving the state "a role in catalyzing a national movement around healthier babies." Ruth Ann Shepherd, M.D., division director for maternal and child health in the Kentucky Department for Public Health,...
Health News
Mothers should try to go to full term in their pregnancies, but many are unaware of the risks of early delivery, UK study finds
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| Illustration by Michelle Kumata via KRT |
A study conducted at the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information found women often don't realize the important development that takes place at the end of pregnancy, write UK doctoral student Sarah Vos and H. Dan O'Hair, dean of the college, for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Evidence shows that early, elective births are expensive. One study found reducing the number of elective births before 39 weeks of gestation to less than 2 percent of all U.S. births would save $1 billion each year.
But many women are uncomfortable at the end of their pregnancy, are anxious to know their children are healthy, and may even ask for early induction of labor because employers aren't flexible about time off. Sometimes doctors and other providers induce women early for their convenience.
Encouraging women to go full term and telling them the disadvantages of early labor ? problems feeding and a higher incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ? can influence their decision. As Vos and O'Hair conclude, "Babies are worth the wait." (Read more)
- Anthem Gives $140,000 For 3-county Program To Cut Smoking By Pregnant Women, Still At 21.9% In Ky., Among Highest In U.s.
Health departments in Christian, Hopkins and Madison counties will start a program called Giving Infants and Families Tobacco Free Starts, with a $140,000 grant to the state health department from the Anthem Foundation. The GIFTS program was created to...
- Expectant Mothers Need To Get A Flu Shot
Expectant mothers need to get a flu shot as soon as it is available in their area, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only the flu shot, not the nasal-spray vaccine, is recommended for pregnant women because it is made with the inactivated...
- Anthem Gives Hospital Group Grant To Improve Perinatal Care, Including Discouraging Early, Medically Unnecessary Deliveries
The foundation of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has awarded nearly $259,000 to an arm of the Kentucky Hospital Association to improve perinatal care and outcomes for mothers and their babies by discouraging early, medically unnecessary deliveries...
- U.s. Preterm Birth Rate Goes Down But Kentucky's Maternal Smoking Rate Still Second Highest, Putting Preterm Babies At Risk
For the fifth year in a row, the preterm birth rate in the United States has dropped. Which is great news. But Kentucky again had a significantly high smoking rate for expectant mothers -- at 32.2 percent, putting us behind only West Virginia (at 36 percent)...
- Kentucky Doctor Honored For Her Work In Bolstering Health And Preventing Deaths Of Babies Born A Few Weeks Early
A Kentucky neonatalogist was honored this week for giving the state "a role in catalyzing a national movement around healthier babies." Ruth Ann Shepherd, M.D., division director for maternal and child health in the Kentucky Department for Public Health,...