July 20, 2020

Lupus Drug Prevents Low Heartbeat in High-Risk Newborns: Study

FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 -- A drug used to treat lupus and malaria -- hydroxychloroquine -- reduced by half the risk of a potentially fatal heart condition in newborns who were at high risk for it.

The condition -- known as congenital heart block (CHB) -- results in a dangerously low heart rate.

July 9, 2020

Exposure to Iodine in the NICU May Affect Infant Thyroid Function

TUESDAY, July 7, 2020 -- Exposure to iodine in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may increase a baby's risk for loss of thyroid function, a new study suggests.

Iodine solutions are often used as disinfectants on the skin before surgical or other medical procedures. Iodine also is given internally for imaging procedures used in infants, researchers explained.

July 9, 2020

Zika May Have Damaged More Infants' Brains Than Expected

TUESDAY, July 7, 2020 -- It's a virus some might not even remember, but babies born to mothers infected with Zika who appeared normal at birth still experienced neurological or developmental problems, new research suggests.

A hallmark of infection with the mosquito-borne Zika virus in pregnant women is delivering a baby with an abnormally small head -- a condition called microcephaly. But as children exposed to Zika in the womb are growing up, researchers are learning that it's not only the youngsters born with microcephaly that they need to worry about.

June 15, 2020

'Kangaroo Care' Has Big Health Benefits For Preemies

MONDAY, May 25, 2020 -- Skin-to-skin contact between parents and babies -- often called "kangaroo care" -- provides major benefits to preemies' hearts and brains, Australian researchers say.

They assessed 40 babies born about 10 weeks early with an average weight of 2.9 pounds. Normal birth weight is 6.6 pounds.