Childbirth

Countries in Africa should promote maternal, infant and child health and report on progress, in order to curb high death rates on the continent, according to the African Union. There are continents where women give birth and it is a pleasant experience because they are bringing life, said AU Commissioner for Social Affairs Bience Gawana. In our continent, unfortunately, that is not always the case. Women also bring death to themselves and their children. Progress on the promotion of maternal, infant and child health featured during the 12th African Union Heads of State and Government Summit, which ended on Wednesday. Ms Gawana said the AU had agreed to launch a continent-wide campaign to address the issue.

Closing Date: 15 November 2007
We invite applications for this contract position, for appointment on 1 December 2007. This is a 6 month full-time position, stationed at Liesbeeck Midwife Obstetric Unit (MOU), Mowbray Maternity Hospital.

mothers2mothers (m2m) is a peer support program that aims to provide education and psychosocial support to HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers, help women access existing health care services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), and follow up with mothers and babies to ensure they receive appropriate medical care after delivery. While there has been much interest in innovative psychosocial support programs that complement PMTCT clinical services, only a few such programs exist, and there is very little data about their effectiveness. Although m2m is a well known program with anecdotal accounts of successfully supporting HIV-positive women, the program had yet to undergo an external evaluation. The Horizons Program of Population Council, in collaboration with Health Systems Trust, completed the first evaluation of m2m as part of its introduction in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.

Binge Drinking, Smoking Are Risk Factors Alcohol-use disorders and depression commonly coexist, presenting unique challenges for both individuals who suffer from this comorbidity as well as their treatment providers.

Explain to interested patients that premature infants are at a significant risk for severe lung disease, and that giving corticosteroids to the expectant mother has been shown to reduce the risk of lung complications in the baby.

Women who give birth by Caesarean are putting themselves and their child at risk, medical experts have warned in a new report.

More and more babies each year are being born just shy of spending a full pregnancy in their mothers' wombs, putting more infants at risk of health and possibly developmental problems because they enter the world before they are ready.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have learned that, contrary to popular belief, mild to moderate levels of maternal psychological stress during pregnancy may actually enhance fetal maturation.

Preeclampsia, the development of high blood pressure and protein in the urine during pregnancy and its more severe complications such as eclampsia, can threaten the lives of both mother and child. While there is no therapy to prevent preeclampsia, a link to calcium deficiency has been suggested. In a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers across the globe, under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO), investigated whether a calcium supplement could reduce the complications and mortality from this condition.

LONDON - A re-usable, lightweight suit could help save the lives of thousands of women in poor countries who die each year during childbirth, researchers said on Monday. The garment, which resembles the bottom half of a wetsuit, restores blood flow to vital organs in women in shock and suffering from obstetrical haemorrhaging, or bleeding, during the birth. In a pilot study of 364 women in Egypt, the non-pneumatic, anti-shock garment, or NASG, reduced death and severe illness by 69 percent, according to the researchers.