Born Too Soon Decade Of Action On Preterm Birth

Every year, 1 in 10 babies are born too soon. Preterm birth is the leading cause of under-5 child deaths and accounts for over one third of all newborn deaths. A preterm baby’s chances of survival are starkly different based on where they are born: newborns in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia are 10 times more likely to die in their first month than newborns in high-income countries. In 2012, an impressive global coalition of partners launched Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth, setting a pathway for intensified advocacy and action on maternal and newborn health. Today there is much progress to celebrate, especially in the care of preterm babies. However, rates of preterm birth have barely shifted and the burden of preterm birth remains huge, impacting babies, families, communities and whole societies through a staggering loss of human capital. At this juncture – 10 years since the original report – partners from over 60 organizations and 40 countries have come together again to develop Born Too Soon: A Decade of Change for Preterm Birth. This report looks back at the progress and challenges of the past decade and grapples with contemporary challenges, such as conflict, climate change, COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis. Born Too Soon elevates the voices of survivors and affected families and puts a strong emphasis on upholding their rights and providing respectful and family-centered care. The report identifies priority investments and solutions needed at scale to accelerate action; country examples demonstrate that progress is possible.

In this issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, guest editor Leslie Altimier, DNP, RNC, NE-BC, brings her considerable expertise to the topic of Neonatal Nursing: Clinical Concepts and Practice Implications, Part 1. Top experts provide clinical reviews covering mother’s milk versus donor milk, retinopathy of prematurity, non-invasive ventilation, management of peri-viable infants, and much more, with a focus on best practices and improving patient outcomes. Contains 12 relevant, practice-oriented topics including dangerous things we used to do in neonatology; racial disparities and neonatal outcomes; changing the paradigm of care through couplet care; nurse-led telehealth interventions for infants discharged from the NICU and their caregivers; neonatal care from a global perspective; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on neonatal nursing, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

A timely, revelatory first look into the impact climate change has on children—the greatest moral crisis humanity faces today—by a pediatrician in the fastest warming city in America. Wildfires, hurricanes, and heat waves make headlines. But what is happening in Debra Hendrickson’s clinic tells another story of this strange and unsettling time. Hendrickson is a pediatrician in Reno, Nevada—the fastest warming city in the United States, where ash falls like snow during summer wildfires. In The Air They Breathe, Dr. Hendrickson recounts patients she’s seen who were harmed by worsening smoke, smog, and pollen; two boys in Arizona, stricken by record-setting heat while hiking; children who fled for their lives from Hurricane Harvey and the Tubbs Fire; and a little girl whose life was forever altered by the Zika virus outbreak in 2016. The climate crisis is a health crisis, and it is a health crisis, first and foremost, for children. Children’s bodies are interwoven with and shaped by their surroundings. As the planet warms and their environment changes, children’s health is at risk. The youngest are especially vulnerable because their brain, lungs, and other organs are forming and growing every day, and because their physiology is so different from that of adults. Childhood has always been a risky period of life; throughout history, babies and children have met peril, from polio to famine, from cyclones to war. Yet they have never quite had to face, in quite this way, the potential loss of the future itself. The Air They Breathe is not just about the health impacts of global warming, but something more: a soul-stirring reminder of our moral responsibility to our children, and their profound connections to this unique and irreplaceable world.

The increasing prevalence of preterm birth in the United States is a complex public health problem that requires multifaceted solutions. Preterm birth is a cluster of problems with a set of overlapping factors of influence. Its causes may include individual-level behavioral and psychosocial factors, sociodemographic and neighborhood characteristics, environmental exposure, medical conditions, infertility treatments, and biological factors. Many of these factors co-occur, particularly in those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups. While advances in perinatal and neonatal care have improved survival for preterm infants, those infants who do survive have a greater risk than infants born at term for developmental disabilities, health problems, and poor growth. The birth of a preterm infant can also bring considerable emotional and economic costs to families and have implications for public-sector services, such as health insurance, educational, and other social support systems. Preterm Birth assesses the problem with respect to both its causes and outcomes. This book addresses the need for research involving clinical, basic, behavioral, and social science disciplines. By defining and addressing the health and economic consequences of premature birth, this book will be of particular interest to health care professionals, public health officials, policy makers, professional associations and clinical, basic, behavioral, and social science researchers.

Children are the foundation of the United States, and supporting them is a key component of building a successful future. However, millions of children face health inequities that compromise their development, well-being, and long-term outcomes, despite substantial scientific evidence about how those adversities contribute to poor health. Advancements in neurobiological and socio-behavioral science show that critical biological systems develop in the prenatal through early childhood periods, and neurobiological development is extremely responsive to environmental influences during these stages. Consequently, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors significantly affect a child's health ecosystem and ability to thrive throughout adulthood. Vibrant and Healthy Kids: Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity builds upon and updates research from Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity (2017) and From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000). This report provides a brief overview of stressors that affect childhood development and health, a framework for applying current brain and development science to the real world, a roadmap for implementing tailored interventions, and recommendations about improving systems to better align with our understanding of the significant impact of health equity.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book examines the toxicological and health implications of environmental epigenetics and provides knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach. Included in this volume are chapters outlining various environmental risk factors such as phthalates and dietary components, life states such as pregnancy and ageing, hormonal and metabolic considerations and specific disease risks such as cancer cardiovascular diseases and other non-communicable diseases. Environmental Epigenetics imparts integrative knowledge of the science of epigenetics and the issues raised in environmental epidemiology. This book is intended to serve both as a reference compendium on environmental epigenetics for scientists in academia, industry and laboratories and as a textbook for graduate level environmental health courses. Environmental Epigenetics imparts integrative knowledge of the science of epigenetics and the issues raised in environmental epidemiology. This book is intended to serve both as a reference compendium on environmental epigenetics for scientists in academia, industry and laboratories and as a textbook for graduate level environmental health courses.

Kangaroo mother care is a method of care of preterm infants which involves infants being carried, usually by the mother, with skin-to-skin contact. This guide is intended for health professionals responsible for the care of low-birth-weight and preterm infants. Designed to be adapted to local conditions, it provides guidance on how to organize services at the referral level and on what is needed to provide effective kangaroo mother care.