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Babies in special care units may soon be able to stay close to their mothers thanks to a revolutionary incubator design. The hi-tech BabyBloom can be fitted across the bed of a new mother allowing her to bond with her baby even as it needs to be in the special environment of an incubator. Such [...]

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Her eyes wide with fear and pain, Théthé – who is haemorrhaging and has a fever – groans and pushes as she lies on a brown vinyl mattress, slick with blood and amniotic fluid, in one of the worst places in the world to be a mother (pdf). After a final push, a nurse holds [...]

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The miniscule foot of baby Carolina Terzis – who miraculously survived being born four months premature – is dwarfed by the palm of an adult. The tiny infant is thought to be Brazil’s smallest surviving baby, weighing just 12oz and measuring only 27cm tall. Her mum Alexandra, 32, who gave birth in November five months [...]

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Chick embryos can be ‘woken up’ in the egg long before hatching by rousing them with the sound of clucking hens. Other noises have no effect – only the clucking of a hen. The findings may have important implications for premature babies, researchers believe – babies born early may be ‘learning’ far earlier than scientists [...]

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Two premature twins given 10 times the prescribed amount of morphine at a scandal hit hospital would have probably survived an inquest has been told. The drug was given to Alfie and Harry McQuillan after they had been born 13 weeks early. An expert in premature babies said on the balance of probabilities the tiny [...]

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About 15 million premature babies are born every year – more than 1 in 10 of the world’s births and a bigger problem than previously believed, according to the first country-by-country estimates of this obstetric epidemic. The startling toll: 1.1 million of these fragile newborns die as a result, and even those who survive can [...]

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AS MANY as 450,000 lives could be saved each year by taking a cue from marsupials. If parents of premature babies in poor countries were to continuously carry infants against the skin in “kangaroo pouches” and increase breastfeeding and regular medical monitoring, we might save more of the 15 million babies born too soon each [...]

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Fifteen million babies, one in 10 births, are born prematurely every year, a global project suggests. One million of these babies die soon after birth. The joint report, led by the WHO, says three quarters of deaths could be prevented with basic care. For the first time premature birth rates have been estimated by country, [...]

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I thought I knew what a premature baby would look like. I’d seen photos of tiny newborns with wedding rings over their wrists to show scale. But nothing prepared me for seeing, in real life, a child born months before its due date. Looking into an incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at [...]

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Pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor is celebrating after giving birth to her third son. The singer, 33, and her husband, The Feeling bassist Richard Jones, 32, welcomed baby Ray Holiday Jones at lunchtime today. The excited dad took to the band’s Twitter page to announce the birth: ‘It’s a boy! Ray Holiday Jones was born today at [...]

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Christine Bolden collapsed on March 1 while walking in Michigan, Detroit, with her boyfriend and three-year-old son. Five days later she was pronounced brain-dead by doctors and an obituary for the 26-year-old lists her date of death as March 6. But almost a month later she has given birth to twins after being kept on life [...]

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At-risk premature babies would benefit from being given milk feeds earlier, a study has suggested. The University of Oxford study found babies were not at a higher risk of severe bowel problems if moved off IV-feeds early, as was feared. Four hundred babies, born at least five weeks early and small for their age, were [...]

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Nearly two years after the proceeding, a Spanish a medical team announced they have successfully performed an operation in the lung of a foetus. According to doctors from two hospitals in Barcelona, this type of surgery had never been successful before. Little Alaitz is now 16-months old and lives in Spain. via BBC News – [...]

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However long it lasts, labour is a gruelling affair. So spare a thought for Joanna Krzysztonek, who endured an astonishing 75 days of it. And as if that wasn’t challenging enough, the 31-year-old was forced to lie upside down for the entire time. Mrs Krzysztonek was pregnant with triplets when she went into labour at [...]

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Since Scotland introduced a ban on smoking in public places in 2006 there has been a 10% drop in the country’s premature birth rate, say researchers. via BBC News – Fewer premature births after smoking ban in Scotland. » Inline Ad Purchase:  Intext Link

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Since Scotland introduced a ban on smoking in public places in 2006 there has been a 10% drop in the country’s premature birth rate, say researchers. They believe this is a smoke-free benefit that can be chalked up alongside others, like reductions in heart disease and childhood asthma. Tobacco smoke has been linked to poor [...]

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Babies born even just a few weeks early are more likely to suffer from poor health, including asthma, researchers have discovered. Doctors have traditionally regarded the health prospects of babies born two to three weeks premature as similar to those who were born at full-term. But the latest findings demonstrate that such babies, born at [...]

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Babies born just a few weeks early have a higher risk of poor health, including asthma, than those born later, research suggests. The earlier a baby is born, the worse the impact on their health, but risks are also evident for babies born at 37 to 38 weeks’ gestation – commonly seen as full term. [...]

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TV presenter Amanda Davies today called on mothers to donate breast milk. The BBC sports broadcaster, 31, revealed how her daughter Molly was helped by donor milk when she was born nine weeks early. Davies, daughter of former FA chief David, said her waters broke live on air and she spent 24 hours in intensive [...]

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When Saif Mehmood was born prematurely at 24 weeks, he was so small he was slipped into a sandwich bag to keep him warm, before being put in an incubator. But three years on, the little fighter is celebrating his birthday this week with his proud family. Just after giving birth, Saif’s mother Sadia was [...]

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A baby weighing a mere 9.5oz (270g) – roughly equivalent to two mobile phones – has finally gone home with her mother after spending nearly five months in an incubator. Melinda Star Guido was delivered 16 weeks early at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center by Caesarean section last summer. At birth, she measured just [...]

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Doctors are failing to give enough advice to mothers at risk of premature babies, the charity Tommy’s said today. Its midwives are getting calls to their advice line from anxious parents faced with a lack of information on preparing themselves for a baby born too early. In response, Tommy’s will launch tomorrow the first comprehensive [...]

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Rare condition connected to pre-eclampsia
Had to be airlifted to different hospital leaving baby in intensive care

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Melinda not much heavier than Coke can when she was delivered

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Parents of premature babies are being offered the chance to watch over their newborns from their mobiles via a webcam.

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A blood test which could tell mothers if they are at high risk of giving birth prematurely could be available soon.

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Premature babies become oversensitive to pain owing to the intensive-care treatments they receive after birth, a study suggests.

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A cheque for more than £300,000 has been presented to the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

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A Kent couple whose twins were born three months early have said they feel torn in all directions after the babies were put in hospitals 50 miles apart.

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A technique that “washes out” the brains of severely ill premature babies may aid survival, a study suggests.

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Bliss: Bitter experience led footballer Phil Neville’s, family to raise funds for premature babies.

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The US/Canadian singer describes how the NHS saved her premature baby’s life

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It’s a headline more suited to a tabloid newspaper than a learned scientific publication; “Is it time to stop starving premature infants?” asked an editorial in a recent edition of the Journal of Perinatology. Another crime, then, to add to the NHS charge sheet along with filthy wards, superbugs and postcode lotteries that deny life-prolonging drugs to some. Our health service also deprives its youngest, most vulnerable patients of their most basic requirement – food. Surely, it can’t be true?

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Telegraph Christmas Charity Appeal: Bliss has been helping to keep newborns alive for 30 years, and its work is as vital as ever.

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A drug used to treat cancer can stop contractions and may prevent premature labour, researchers say.

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It’s every parent’s dream: to hear from the teacher that he is gifted.

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