Health News
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) of pregnant women who gave birth preterm and smoked.
Being born before full term puts babies at undue risk. Still, nearly half a million babies in the United States are born prematurely, many unnecessarily, according to the March of Dimes' 2012 Premature Birth Report Card. Serena Gordon of HealthDay reports that "those risks include breathing difficulties, heart defects and bleeding in the brain. Some conditions are only temporary while others can persist." A premature birth is anything that occurs before 37 weeks gestation. Maternal smoking is a major factor respiratory difficulties for the child and in an inability for the mother to go full term.
It is also been found that women without health insurance also have a higher incidence of preterm birth. Texas had the worst rates of uninsured women with 34.2 percent without insurance. Florida and New Mexico had rates of uninsured women of about 30 percent. Kentucky had rates of uninsured women of 21.7 percent. (Read more)
To see the full report and to see how Kentucky fared compared to other states in a number of other categories, go here.
- 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...
- Kids Count Shows Ky. Tops In Smoking By Pregnant Mothers, Has A Wide Range Of Local Data About Children's Well-being
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News The annual Kids Count report on children's well-being, released Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates, says the state leads the nation in smoking by pregnant mothers and more...
- 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,...
- County Data Paint Specific Pictures Of Health; Ashland Paper Is One Of First To Pick Up On It And Do A Story
More progress is needed to make sure children from low-income families are going to the dentist is just one of the findings of the 2011 Kentucky Kids Count County Data, released by Kentucky Youth Advocates. The data paint a detailed portrait of each...
Health News
U.S. preterm birth rate goes down but Kentucky's maternal smoking rate still second highest, putting preterm babies at risk
Being born before full term puts babies at undue risk. Still, nearly half a million babies in the United States are born prematurely, many unnecessarily, according to the March of Dimes' 2012 Premature Birth Report Card. Serena Gordon of HealthDay reports that "those risks include breathing difficulties, heart defects and bleeding in the brain. Some conditions are only temporary while others can persist." A premature birth is anything that occurs before 37 weeks gestation. Maternal smoking is a major factor respiratory difficulties for the child and in an inability for the mother to go full term.
It is also been found that women without health insurance also have a higher incidence of preterm birth. Texas had the worst rates of uninsured women with 34.2 percent without insurance. Florida and New Mexico had rates of uninsured women of about 30 percent. Kentucky had rates of uninsured women of 21.7 percent. (Read more)
To see the full report and to see how Kentucky fared compared to other states in a number of other categories, go here.
- 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...
- Kids Count Shows Ky. Tops In Smoking By Pregnant Mothers, Has A Wide Range Of Local Data About Children's Well-being
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News The annual Kids Count report on children's well-being, released Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Kentucky Youth Advocates, says the state leads the nation in smoking by pregnant mothers and more...
- 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,...
- County Data Paint Specific Pictures Of Health; Ashland Paper Is One Of First To Pick Up On It And Do A Story
More progress is needed to make sure children from low-income families are going to the dentist is just one of the findings of the 2011 Kentucky Kids Count County Data, released by Kentucky Youth Advocates. The data paint a detailed portrait of each...