Georgia scores an “F” for Premature Birth Rate

Did you know that one in eight babies born in our country is premature? Even worse, the rate of premature birth in America is higher than that of most other developed nations!

This week The March of Dimes issued its Premature Birth Report Card, which grades each state’s rate of preterm birth.

Georgia scored an “F”.

The report card grades each state’s rate of preterm birth compared to the nation’s objective of a 7.6 percent or less preterm birth rate by 2010. Georgia’s preterm birth rate was 13.6 percent.

To learn more about premature birth and what the March of Dimes is doing about it, click here…

AP: Pregnant women, new parents urged to get vaccine

August 27, 2009

WASHINGTON – Health officials are stressing that it is vital for pregnant women and new parents to get the swine flu vaccine to protect themselves and their children.

According to the article, vaccine for the seasonal flu is available in many parts of the country now, and testing is under way for the swine flu vaccine, which is expected to be available in October.

Also, parents concerned about preservatives in vaccines will be relieved to know that there will be swine flu vaccines available without the preservative Thimerosal.

To read the rest of this article, Click Here.

Her: Extension Cord of Life

Like ripples on a pond, the decisions we make affect others — family, friends, and even strangers.

Be sure to read my story Extension Cord of Life, in the August 2009 issue of Her magazine. One local family shares how an unknown mother’s simple decision to bank her baby’s umbilical cord blood saved their son’s life.

Columbus is blessed to be the headquarters of Stork Medical, LLC.–a nation-wide, private cord blood storage company. Stork Medical offers expectant mothers the opportunity to collect and store their baby’s cord blood after delivery, thus ensuring a personal source of stem cells should the child require a transplant during her lifetime. They also offer free and heavily discounted cord blood stem cell storage to members of our Armed Forces.

Info: 1-866-65-STORK

AP: Kids’ lower IQ scores linked to prenatal pollution

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer – Mon Jul 20, 10:53 am ET

CHICAGO – Researchers for the first time have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing brain.

The results are in a study of 249 children of New York City women who wore backpack air monitors for 48 hours during the last few months of pregnancy. They lived in mostly low-income neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. They had varying levels of exposure to typical kinds of urban air pollution, mostly from car, bus and truck exhaust.

At age 5, before starting school, the children were given IQ tests. Those exposed to the most pollution before birth scored on average four to five points lower than children with less exposure.

To read the rest of this article, click here…

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