News from August 2010

International Women's Health Program: supported by SOGC

August 31, 2010

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecolgists of Canada have launched a website supporting the rights and health of women and children worldwide.

Using various strategies (Professional Capacity Building, Advocacy, Partnerships, and Research and Evaluation) the program aims to ensure that every woman has the right to survive pregnancy and childbirth, and has access to the care she needs to deliver a healthy baby.

Please see the link here to the International Women’s Health Program website.

AJOG reports low levels of Vitamin D linked to pregnancy complications

August 27, 2010

A recent study presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Chicago reports the need for further study on low levels of Vitamin D and potential effects on pregnancy outcomes.

The story below is taken from Reuter’s Health:

A new study finds that women who develop a severe form of pregnancy-related high blood pressure tend to have lower blood levels of vitamin D than healthy pregnant women—raising the possibility that the vitamin plays a role in the complication.

The condition is known as early-onset severe preeclampsia, and while it arises in about 2 to 3 percent of pregnancies, it contributes to about 15 percent of preterm births in the U.S. each year.

Preeclampsia is a syndrome marked by a sudden increase in blood pressure and a buildup of protein in the urine due to stress on the kidneys. Early-onset severe preeclampsia is a particularly serious form that arises before the 34th week of pregnancy.

In the current study, researchers found that vitamin D levels were generally lower among 50 women with early severe preeclampsia compared with those of 100 healthy pregnant women. The average vitamin D level in the former group was 18 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), versus 32 ng/mL in the latter group.

There is debate over what constitutes an adequate level of vitamin D in the blood. But many experts say that at least 32 ng/mL is needed for overall health.

The findings, reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, do not prove that lower vitamin D levels contribute to early-onset severe preeclampsia.

They do, however, add to a spate of recent research finding connections between vitamin D levels in the blood, or vitamin D intake, and the risks of a host of health problems.

The full story can be found here

The study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology can be found at the link here

SOGC supports G8 commitment on child and maternal health

August 23, 2010

During the G8 Summit in Muskoka, Prime Minister Stephen Harper put forth a signature on the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Initiative and G8 leaders, as stated in the G8 Communiqué, “reaffirm[ed their] strong support to significantly reduce the number of maternal, newborn and under five child deaths as a matter of immediate humanitarian and development concern”.

The Government of Canada pledged $1.1 billion in new money over 5 years for the Muskoka Initiative, with the remaining G8 countries together pledging another $3.9 billion over 5 years and other developed countries and civil society organizations making up the difference to total $7.3 billion over 5 years. As far as Canada is concerned, this will mean an additional $220 million investment a year in Canada’s foreign aid for maternal, newborn and child health. The money will be used to strengthen health systems with a focus on improving quality care to women and children, and will include antenatal care; attended childbirth; post-partum care; sexual and reproductive health care and services, including voluntary family planning; health education; treatment and prevention of diseases including infectious diseases; prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV; immunizations; basic nutrition and relevant actions in the field of safe drinking water and sanitation. A core principal of the Initiative is that it will build “on proven, cost-effective, evidence-based interventions”.

The SOGC has played an important role in shaping the Muskoka Initiative by offering its expertise to the Government of Canada and suggesting the most effective and the most urgent interventions to reduce maternal mortality in low-resource settings. “We are delighted that the Prime Minister has recognized that complications during labour and birth are the main reason mothers are dying and that aid efforts should be focused on pregnancy and childbirth” said Dr. Ahmed Ezzat, President of the SOGC.

The outcome of the 2010 G8 Summit and the increased attention given to maternal and child health this year has proven that SOGC‘s advocacy efforts were extremely relevant and essential for gaining progress on the issue. For health professionals in particular, the SOGC strongly believes that professional associations, having a keen understanding of the impacts of simple and effective interventions on maternal mortality and morbidity rates, have a responsibility and an obligation to use their influence to promote and defend sexual and reproductive rights for all women.

(taken from the SOGC‘s website for International’s Women Health Program)

Please see the news release from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada dated June 28th 2010 here

Please see the Government of Canada, Summitt Outcomes website link to the Initiative on Child and Maternal Health here

'Baby Week' on Discovery Health channel highlights the experiences of families and preterm infants

August 19, 2010

Discovery Health recently highlighted the day-to-day experiences of families who care for a preterm child. The series called ‘NICU’ ran during ‘Baby Week’ hosted by Discovery Health, which detailed the stories of physicians, nurses and families living and experiencing the emotions and struggles that comes with having a preterm baby.

Please see the information below taken from health.discovery.com:

This 10-episode docu drama series goes behind the scenes of top national neonatal intensive care (NICU) units, showing the day-to-day care required to sustain the smallest of lives. NICU follows real families as they experience the rollercoaster of emotions that come with having a premature baby and features doctors and nurses from leading hospitals in Baltimore, San Diego and Cleveland, as they work around the clock to ensure the survival of their tiny patients.

Please click here to link to the Discovery Health website.

Pregnancy complications linked to Smoking: American Journal Of Obstetrics & Gynecology

August 12, 2010

In the July 2010 edition of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers from Ontario, Canada have reported maternal smokers with preeclampsia have an increased risk for pregnancy complications such as preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth.

Please see the article below taken from Reuters Health:

A new study suggests that smokers who develop preeclampsia during pregnancy are at particular risk of suffering the complications associated with the disorder—including preterm delivery, low birth weight and stillbirth.

The findings may not sound surprising. But they actually present something of a paradox, as past studies have linked smoking to a reduced risk of developing preeclampsia in the first place.

Preeclampsia is a syndrome marked by a sudden increase in blood pressure after the 20th week of pregnancy and a buildup of protein in the urine due to stress on the kidneys. Most women with preeclampsia deliver a healthy baby, but the condition can develop into a life-threatening condition called eclampsia, which can cause seizures or coma.

Preeclampsia can also slow the growth of the fetus and increase the risks of preterm birth, placental abruption—where the placenta separates from the uterine wall before delivery of the newborn, potentially leading to heavy bleeding that can be life-threatening to mother and child.

A number of studies have found that pregnant smokers are less likely than non-smokers to develop preeclampsia, for reasons that are not yet clear.

But these latest findings, reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, suggest that once preeclampsia develops, smoking exacerbates the risk of complications, according to Elizabeth Miller and colleagues at the Ottawa Hospital in Canada.

Please see the full article here

JAMA study: Late Preterm Birth increases respiratory risk

August 5, 2010

In the July 28th, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Consortium on Safe Labor published results showing the risk of respiratory problems rises significantly in babies born prematurely.

Please see the full article below:

In the largest study of its kind, researchers find that the risk of severe breathing problems rises significantly in babies born prematurely, even those born in the so-called late preterm period.

Health experts consider babies born at or after 37 weeks’ gestation to be full term, and those born between 34 weeks and 37 weeks to be late preterm. (Preterm is defined as less than 34 weeks’ gestation.) Many previous studies have shown that compared with full-term babies, those who are born too early are at higher risk of dying shortly after delivery and are more likely to suffer neonatal complications that require lengthy stays in the hospital.

In the new study, Dr. Judith Hibbard at University of Illinois also found that babies born at 34 weeks were 40 times more likely to have respiratory distress syndrome, a breathing difficulty that often requires a ventilator, than babies born at 38 weeks or later.

(article taken from time.com)

Read more on this story here