http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—Women in some disadvantaged communities are missing out on support that could potentially reduce high rates of infant mortality, according to an exploratory study at the University of Leeds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-mothers-ethnic-minority-groups.html Health Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:40:01 EST news286439200 HIV-infected women in sub-Saharan Africa who fed their babies exclusively with breast milk for more than the first four months of life had the lowest risk of transmitting the virus to their babies through breast milk, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Women who stopped breast feeding earlier than four months had the highest concentrations of HIV in their breast milk, and those who continued to breastfeed, but not exclusively, had concentration levels in-between the two practices. The findings are online in the journal Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-hiv-infected-moms-breastfeed-exclusively-virus.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:00:02 EST news285423153 (HealthDay)—After five years of leveling off, the U.S. infant mortality rate is finally on the decline again, a new government report shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-infant-mortality.html Health Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:20:01 EST news285411553 (Medical Xpress)—A study by University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers published April 1, 2013, in the journal Pediatrics showed that increasing numbers of premature and other low birth weight infants are the leading cause for the leveling off of infant mortality and neonatal mortality rates in the United States. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-prematurity-birth-weight-significantly-impact.html Pediatrics Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:35:05 EST news284038490 A new research technique, pioneered by Dr. Maria Angela Franceschini, will be published in JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) on March 14th. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have developed a non-invasive optical measurement system to monitor neonatal brain activity via cerebral metabolism and blood flow. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-early-brain-babies-published.html Medical research Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:39:41 EST news282472773 (HealthDay)—Maternal alcohol-use disorder increases the risk of both sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and non-SIDS-related infant mortality, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-infant-mortality-maternal-alcohol.html Pediatrics Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:56:20 EST news281019373 The authors estimate nearly 40,000 extra admissions to hospital as a result of income inequality over the three year study period. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-strong-link-income-inequality-readmission.html Health Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:40:02 EST news280086291 Americans are in worse health, die earlier and suffer from more disease than residents of other wealthy nations, according to a new study out Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-americans-healthy.html Health Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:00:02 EST news276968576 The United States suffers far more violent deaths than any other wealthy nation, due in part to the widespread possession of firearms and the practice of storing them at home in a place that is often unlocked, according to a report released amid a fierce debate over gun control in the country. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-violence-role-shorter-life.html Health Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:21:00 EST news276960055 On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. The report finds that this health disadvantage exists at all ages from birth to age 75 and that even advantaged Americans—those who have health insurance, college educations, higher incomes, and healthy behaviors—appear to be sicker than their peers in other rich nations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-health-disadvantage-spans-age-socioeconomic.html Health Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:13:27 EST news276959599 (Medical Xpress)—The mortality rate for black and white infants in Dane County was just about equal from 2004 until 2007. However, black infant deaths rose from 2008 to 2010 while the mortality rate for white babies remained steady. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-medical-social-black-infant-mortality.html Health Wed, 02 Jan 2013 09:50:57 EST news276342586 In a study that included nearly 30,000 women from Nordic countries who had filled a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescription during pregnancy, researchers found no significant association between use of these medications during pregnancy and risk of stillbirth, neonatal death, or postneonatal death, after accounting for factors including maternal psychiatric disease, according to a study in the January 2 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-anti-depressants-pregnancy-linked-stillbirth-infant.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 01 Jan 2013 16:05:43 EST news276278725 A viewpoint in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) discusses the issue of iodine deficiency in pregnant women in the U.S. and the potential negative health implications for both mothers and their children from this deficiency. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-jama-article-discusses-critical-iodine.html Health Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:00:13 EST news275068218 Infant mortality has fallen by half, and the number of women who died from complications during pregnancy and childbirth by three-quarters. This is the result of a four-year health care project in one of India's poorest districts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-health-india-mothers-children.html Health Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:44:48 EST news271071879 Mothers and newborns who are both admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) after delivery are significantly more likely to die compared with mom–baby pairs not needing ICU admission, found a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). As well, when both mother and baby require admission to an ICU, they are much more likely to be managed at different hospitals, thereby negatively impacting maternal–infant bonding. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-death-significantly-higher-mother-newborn.html Health Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:01:21 EST news270129671 After a series of Philadelphia hospitals started closing their maternity units in 1997, infant mortality rates increased by nearly 50 percent over the next three years. The mortality rates subsequently leveled off to the same rate as before the closures, but pediatric researchers say their results underscore the need for careful oversight and planning by public health agencies in communities experiencing serious reductions in obstetric services. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-newborn-mortality-higher-years-large-scale.html Health Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:01:28 EST news268498878 (HealthDay) -- Infant mortality, preterm births and teen births have dropped across the United States as have violent crime and victimization among children, U.S. health officials reported Friday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-annual-kids-health-bag.html Health Fri, 13 Jul 2012 10:40:01 EST news261393207 Researchers from across the world have joined forces to improve the quality of midwifery care and reduce maternal, newborn and infant mortality. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-global-collaboration-aims-mother-newborn.html Health Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:00:11 EST news259347436 Infant death rates in Appalachia remain significantly higher than much of the rest of the country, and are especially high in the central Appalachian region, according to Penn State health policy researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-appalachian-infant-death-healthcare-deficit.html Health Wed, 06 Jun 2012 10:50:05 EST news258198596 (HealthDay) -- The gap in life expectancy between U.S. whites and blacks narrowed between 2003 and 2008, yet significant disparities remain, a new study finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-lifespan-gap-whites-blacks.html Health Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:31:26 EST news258132678 A simple, cheap dose of zinc helps the recovery of newborns suffering from bacterial infections such as pneumonia and meningitis, according to an Indian study reported on Thursday in The Lancet. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-dose-zinc-boosts-recovery-chances.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 31 May 2012 04:40:01 EST news257657226 Pre-birth exposure to the anti-HIV drug tenofovir does not adversely affect pregnancy outcomes and does not increase birth defects, growth abnormalities, or kidney problems in infants born to African women who are HIV positive, supporting the use of this drug during pregnancy, according to a study by a team of international researchers published in this week's PLoS Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-anti-hiv-drug-tenofovir-safe-pregnancy.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 15 May 2012 17:00:11 EST news256312370 In China, life expectancy should reach 74.5 years by 2015, Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said on Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-china-aims-years-life-minister.html Health Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:52:49 EST news253464762 A child's cognitive development is not generally impacted by how much weight his or her mother gained during pregnancy, according to a study from Nationwide Children's Hospital. This is the first study to use methods controlling for the widest range of confounding factors when directly examining the association between gestational weight gain and childhood cognition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-gestational-weight-gain-child-cognitive.html Health Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:59:31 EST news249656363 Canada's ranking in international child health indexes would dramatically improve if measurements were standardized, according to a new study by researchers from the University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University, McGill University, the University of Calgary, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, working with the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System and funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-international-infant-mortality-flawed.html Health Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:00:01 EST news248675856 (AP) -- For the first time in 45 years, homicide has fallen off the list of the nation's top 15 causes of death, government health officials said Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-homicide-death.html Health Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:55:16 EST news245508906 Despite the numerous medical advances that happen every day, the infant mortality rate in the United States is still higher than most European countries. While experts believe this is closely linked to the growing rate of pre-term births, researchers are committed to finding ways to make labor and delivery safer. Northwestern Medicine researchers are examining a new device that may support improved newborn health at delivery through closer monitoring of infant oxygen use during labor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-northwestern-trial-device-newborn-health.html Other Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:50:01 EST news243696415 A study just published by a Dartmouth team of scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) advances our understanding of the sources of human exposure to arsenic and focuses attention on the potential for consuming harmful levels of arsenic via rice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-rice-source-arsenic-exposure.html Health Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:00:08 EST news242316052 The World Health Organization said a study has found that Filipino mothers who have been influenced by advertisements or their doctors to use infant formula are two to four times more likely to feed their babies with those products. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-infant-formula-ads-breast-feeding.html Health Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:39:51 EST news239517577 Women whose first pregnancy ended in infant death are significantly more likely to have a subsequent stillbirth finds new research published today (21 September) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-infant-mortality-linked-subsequent-stillbirth.html Health Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:12:19 EST news235800726