Seven national health organizations, including the March of Dimes sent a joint statement to 3,000 maternity hospitals in the United States calling for their pledge to support the Strong Start initiative by eliminating non-medically indicated deliveries before 39 weeks.

The American Academy of Family Physicians; American Academy of Pediatrics; American College of Nurse Midwives; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; American Hospital Association; Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses; and the March of Dimes signed and delivered the statement to the hospitals May 1.

The call to action included resources and information for each hospital on how to implement the plan.

The Strong Start initiative is an effort by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reduce preterm births and improve birth outcomes for mother and child.

Neurobiologists in Japan who have begun to study infant responses have discovered that the calming effect a mother has when holding and rocking her child, is actually a physical reaction.

Researchers studied the heart rates of mice and human babies under six months of age. They found that both the mouse pups and the human babies’ heart rates slowed down when held. The reaction took three seconds to occur in human babies. The difficulty for adults to relax so quickly and the quick response time for babies makes researchers believe it is unique to infant physiology.

The researchers also did a test beforehand to see whether it mattered who picked up the baby. Babies showed the same reaction to fathers, grandmothers and mothers, which could dispel the “mother’s touch” myth.

WSMA and Consumer Reports mediated the chat, which Twitter users could participate in by using the hashtag #39Weeks in their tweets or via Twtvite. Chat participants included:

• Dale Reisner, M.D., an OB/GYN at Swedish Perinatal Hospital in Seattle, Washington. (Twitter handle: @DaleReisner)
• Quan Dau, M.D., a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and an OB/GYN at the Everett Clinic. (Twitter handle: @QuanMD)
• The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization working to improve quality and safety in hospitals. (Twitter handle: @LeapfrogGroup)
• WSMA Doc Talk, a part of the WSMA that offers resources to patients to find the right doctor and care. (Twitter handle: @WSMADocTalk)
• Consumer Reports, an independent not-for-profit consumer resource for health information. (Twitter handle: @CR_Health)
• The Everett Clinic, located in Snohomish County, Washington, delivers more than 2,000 babies a year. (Twitter handle: @EverettClinic)

Questions during the chat included:

• What can women do to ensure a healthy delivery and prevent an early delivery?
• What are other procedures pregnant women should avoid?
• How can women find out how often their hospital performs early deliveries?
• What are the risks of pre-term delivery for mom and for baby?

The live chat gave insight to how many organizations and people across the country are invested in the 39 weeks mission.

Photo courtesy of the March of Dimes

Four of the five leading causes of infant mortality also saw decreases. The rate of premature and low birthweight babies born in the United States fell 9 percent. An article published on the New York Times website attributed the 39 Weeks initiative as a likely influence on the percent drops.

“Another possible factor is a recent emphasis on preventing planned early deliveries. A growing number of hospitals are not allowing mothers to schedule births before 39 weeks without a medical reason. In 2011, the March of Dimes started a public education campaign, Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait, to reduce medically unnecessary deliveries before 39 weeks of gestation.”

- Abby Goodnough for The New York Times

Results from the Multistate Quality Improvement Program Study, a March of Dimes’ initiative aimed at reducing early elective deliveries (EEDs), showed an 83 percent decrease of the number of EEDs in Florida, California, Texas, Illinois and New York. The program study could also play a significant role in the decrease of the nation’s rates.

The study, presented at the American Academy of Asthma, Allergies and Immunology’s annual meeting, tested newborns at four intervals of time until they were two years of age. C-section babies had more reactions to household allergens such as pets and dust.

The possible culprit for this could be certain microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract of c-section babies that may make their bodies more susceptible to the antibody Immunoglobulin E (IgE) when exposed to allergens. IgEs trigger cells that release chemicals, which cause allergic reactions.

While the causation for the pattern of these microorganisms found in c-section babies is unknown, researchers speculate that not being exposed to bacteria in the birth canal gives their immune systems a disadvantage.

Almost 30 percent of all births in the United States were reportedly c-sections in 2010.

Non-medically needed c-sections are advised against because they are costly and as with any major surgery, there are risks for complications. There are also other implications that c-section deliveries put babies are risk for more health problems. It is recommended that mothers allow labor to begin on its own.

Babies born at 37-38 weeks may have less of a developmental advantage than babies born at 39-41 weeks, according to a new study published online on the Pediatrics website.

Researchers tested the mental development and psychomotor skills of Chilean babies at 12 months of age, then checked what week of term they were delivered.

The research discovered for each additional week spent in the womb, the mental development score increased by 0.8 and the pyschomotor scores increased 1.4 points.

 ”Even though the definition of a full-term gestation is between 37 and 41 weeks, what I think this study shows is, that each week in the pregnancy is crucial,”

-Dr. Magaly Diaz-Barbosa, the medical director of neonatology for Miami Children’s Hospital told Kathleen Doheny of  HealthDay.

This association between the term week born and an infant’s development raises concerns for doctors and scientists because of the high rates of early induction and c-sections  in the United States. Collectively, they account for 40 percent of all births.

Because of these growing rates, understanding the effects of early delivery on brain development has been a recent focus of some researchers. Another study published in Pediatrics in March found children born before 39 weeks scored slightly lower on reading and math tests.

The user-friendly app has a camera equipped with a belly grid for consistent alignment. The app’s calendar organizes photos by day and month so moms can track their growth.

Cataloging important milestones and events is made easy with the app’s diary, which allows for text and photos to be uploaded.

At the end of the pregnancy, the photos placed in CineMama can be turned into a ready-to-be-shared mini movie, with customized titles and soundtrack options.

Download CineMama for free here.

The study also found low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy are common in vegetarians, women with darker skin and women who get minimum sun exposure.

Vitamin D helps the body with calcium absorption and is vital to bone structure. Our bodies produce vitamin D naturally when our skin is exposed to the sun. Not many foods contain vitamin D, but most are fortified with it, such as milk and other dairy products. Taking a supplement can also help one meet their daily intake.

The Multistate Quality Improvement Program Study is one of the March of Dimes’ initiatives aimed at reducing early elective deliveries.

Courtesy of the March of Dimes

This incredible decrease shows hospital-based quality improvement programs are effective in reducing the rate of early elective deliveries. Out of the 25 participating hospitals in five states, six were in Florida.

Think 39 Weeks! Florida is thrilled with this accomplishment. Our mission is to raise awareness of the importance of the last weeks of pregnancy to healthy fetal development and encourage women and their doctors to allow labor to begin on its own unless otherwise medically needed.

Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait!

The two-day educational conference was designed to expand the knowledge and skill base for perinatal health care professionals in the following areas: The identification of quality improvement opportunities, the planning and implementation of quality improvement initiatives, and the advancement of evidence-based practice at the institutional, community and state levels.

The conference covered a wide variety of subjects including the Perinatal Care (PC) project, antenatal steroids, sustainable perinatal quality improvement, statewide progesterone project and instituting baby friendly practices in maternity facilities.

The conference also highlighted ongoing FPQC projects such as the March of Dimes 39 Weeks Provider, Payer and Consumer Education Campaign. The campaign is a joint effort between FPQC and the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions, Inc. 

Wendy Struchen-Shellhorn, 39 Weeks Project Evaluator, and Sara M. Rieger, 39 Weeks Project Coordinator, stand next to the “Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait” poster abstract at the conference. They were available to answer questions about the 39 Weeks consumer education and awareness campaign to conference attendees.