Eight million low birth weight (LBW) infants constituting one third of the total annual births are born each year in India as a result of intrau terine growth restriction and/or prematurity [1]. Combined efforts of the obstetricians and neonatologist along with advancement in technology and perinatal care have greatly improved the survival rates of LBW infants over the last two decades. However...

A key policy question is whether the benefits of additional medical expenditures exceed their costs. We propose a new approach for estimating marginal returns to medical spending based on variation in medical inputs generated by diagnostic thresholds. Specifically, we combine regression discontinuity estimates that compare health outcomes and medical treatment provision for newborns on either s...

BACKGROUND Infant mortality rates are commonly used to compare the health of populations. Observed differences are often attributed to variation in child health care quality. However, any differences are at least partly explained by variation in the prevalence of risk factors at birth, such as low birth weight. This distinction is important for designing interventions to reduce infant mortality...

There were sharp increases in nonmarital childbearing from 2002 to 2007, following the steady increases beginning in the 1980s. The upward trends have mainly reversed since 2007-2008. In addition, the nature of nonmarital childbearing may be changing as cohabiting unions have increased over the last few decades in the United States along with pregnancies within those unions. Births to unmarried...

BACKGROUND To determine whether the complementary approach of visceral manipulative osteopathic treatment accelerates complete meconium excretion and improves feeding tolerance in very low birth weight infants. METHODS This study was a prospective, randomized, controlled trial in premature infants with a birth weight <1500 g and a gestational age <32 weeks who received a visceral osteopathic ...

background: birth weight is considered as the most important index of neonates' growth as well as the most important determinant of infants' mortality. this study was conducted to investigate the growth pattern in normal, low and very low birth weight neonates for 18 months in the health care centers of isfahan, iran. materials and methods: in a cross-sectional and retrospective study, 214 neon...

Objective To assess the well-being of preterm newborns using the Bayley-III scales in a Korean-based population, and to evaluate the perinatal risk factors influencing developmental outcome. Methods Using the Bayley-III scales, we assessed 120 preterm infants who were referred for evaluation of neurodevelopmental performance. We subdivided them into an extremely preterm group (n=18) and a ver...

A large literature describes relationships between month of birth, birth weight, and gestation. These relationships are hypothesized to reflect the causal impact of seasonal environmental factors. However, recent work casts doubt on this interpretation by showing that mothers with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to give birth in months that are associated with poorer birth outcomes. ...

Fifty preterm neonates were followed up at the age of 6 months and 1 year. In addition to developmental assessment, a complete ophthalmological examination was done on both visits. The largest (62%) gestational age group was of 34-36 weeks. At 6 months, none of the infants had normal vision. At 1 year of age, 64% of the babies had normal vision while incidence of myopia and hypermetropia was 16...

In India, 30% to 40 % babies are low birth weight babies (LBW) as opposed to about 5% to 7% of newborn in the west. In India, 7 to 10 million LBW infants are born annually. About 10 % to 12% of Indian babies are born preterm (less than 37 completed weeks) as compared with 5% to 7% incidence in the west. These infants are physically immature and therefore their neonatal mortality is high. It is ...