Tag: Babies

W.Va. Has One Of The Highest Rates Of Premature Births In The Country

 

The rate of preterm births in the U.S. has risen over the past four years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A new report card from March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization that works to help mothers and babies in the United States, has given West Virginia an F grade in the percentage of live births that are premature. 

Nearly 12 percent of live births in West Virginia are premature. According to the March of Dimes 2019 report card, that’s two percent higher than the national average. The nation as a whole has an overall C rating for preterm births at 10 percent.

The report card analyzed data from 2018. 

The earlier a baby is born, the higher the risk of death or serious disability, according to the CDC. In 2017, preterm and low birth weights accounted for nearly 17 percent of infant deaths nationwide.

Kanawha County had the highest rate of premature births in West Virginia last year at 15 percent, according to the March of Dimes. In Monongalia County, the rate of premature births went down from 10.8 percent to 9.4 percent.

The analysis found the biggest disparities in premature births among racial lines. The report shows that premature births among black women in West Virginia were 22 percent higher than the rate among all other women in the state.

The average cost of a preterm birth in West Virginia is $52,000. 

March of Dimes recommends Medicaid coverage to be extended to include at least one year postpartum. Currently, it only covers 60 days after giving birth, according to the organization.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.

Breastfeeding May Help Reduce Heart Disease

In a beautiful old home in downtown Charleston, 3-month-old Josephine is nursing quietly. Josephine’s mother, Sarah Brown, is a middle-class well-educated woman.

“It’s a big convenience factor for me – you know I’ve got everything I need right there,” said Brown.

“I don’t have to worry about going to make bottles. I don’t have to worry about taking things with me when I go out places. It’s just a really convenient way to feed her.”

But many West Virginia mothers don’t breastfeed their babies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that’s bad for public health. More specifically, “it may be bad for moms’ hearts.
 

“Breastfeeding is associated with a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer and diabetes for the mother,” said Cria Perrine, head of the infant-feeding team for the CDC. “More recent emerging evidence has shown a reduced risk for heart disease.”

So how could breastfeeding reduce the risk of heart disease exactly? Perrine explains that during pregnancy your body changes to support the extra life inside you. During that time you naturally build up cholesterol.

“When a woman breastfeeds, a lot of that cholesterol gets excreted in breastmilk,” said Perrine. “So by breastfeeding it helps reduce those levels back down to where they were before a woman became pregnant.”

In short,, recent research has found that pregnancy makes the cardiovascular system work harder, putting women at higher risk for heart disease. Breastfeeding may help mothers return that system to the pre-pregnancy state.

But West Virginia has some of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the country, according to the CDC Breastfeeding Report Card released this week.

Kimberly Kelly is an associate professor at the WVU School of Pharmacy who coauthored a study on women’s awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding for moms.The women Kelly surveyed for the study lived in Appalachia, were already lactating, and were well-educated.

“They were already thinking of breastfeeding,” said Kelly. “But for some reason they didn’t make the association between cardiovascular disease.”

Not one study participant knew breastfeeding could reduce the risk of heart disease. This isn’t super surprising since the research showing the correlation is only about a decade old. But it is of concern considering that the CDC reports West Virginians have the 11th highest rate of heart disease in the country. Yet in West Virginia 65 percent  of women breastfeed, compared to a national average of 81 percent.

But let’s not get too excited.

“Breastfeeding alone is not going to be sufficient to prevent heart disease,” said Perrine. “Things like diet and physical activity and smoking are all critical factors, but understanding all the risk factors, so we can do as much as we can to prevent [it], is important for everyone.”
 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Proposed Bill Offers Care Options for Opioid-Addicted Babies

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito introduced a federal bill Friday with bipartisan backing that would help newborns suffering from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome have access to quality care.

The Caring Recovery for Infants and Babies Act, also known as CRIB, would recognize residential pediatric recovery facilities as providers under Medicaid.

This means the families whose newborns are born with NAS will be able to bill Medicaid for the services offered.

According to a news release from Senator Capito’s office, the bill would not cost additional dollars but would allow babies to receive quality treatment in the best environment.

Newborns with NAS often require specialized care like longer hospital stays at the NICU, or neonatal intensive care unit. Treatment can cost five times more than the cost of treating other newborns.

CRIB would expand access to allow alternative settings to the NICU.
 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Capito Introduces Bill to Study Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is sponsoring a federal bill to examine the rising rate and treatment costs of neonatal abstinence syndrome or NAS.

Senator Capito introduced the bi-partisan bill Friday, along with two other U.S. senators.

According to a news release, The Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act will expand research into NAS and how to care for affected infants. It will also provide ways to study the prevalence of the syndrome.

Newborns with NAS require specialized care that can result in longer hospital stays and increased costs. A recent study found these costs can be more than five times the cost of caring for other newborns.

W.Va. 2014 Rate of Late Preterm Births at 9.1% in March of Dimes Report Card

West Virginia once again earns a “C” on the 2014 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card.

This year, the rate of late preterm births in West Virginia is at 9.1%.

West Virginia’s preterm birth rate was 12.5% percent in 2013, down from 14% in 2006. The state has received a “C” again this year on its report card.

The national preterm birth rate fell to 11.4 percent in 2013 – the lowest in 17 years — meeting the federal Healthy People 2020 goal seven years early.  Despite this progress, the nation as a whole still received a “C” on its annual report card.  

The US has the highest rate of preterm birth of any high resource country.

West Virginia is part of a national trend toward improved preterm birth rates.

Lily’s Place Hoping to Open Soon

Lily’s Place, a drug rehabilitation facility for new born babies in Huntington, is still trying to open its doors to babies in need in the region.

Since being designated a nonprofit organization last spring Lily’s Place has seen an outpouring of support and donations from the Huntington and surrounding community. The problem for Mary Calhoun Brown, one of the many helping to get the facility off the ground, babies are still nowhere to be found. Brown said it’s been a slow process because they’ve had to make a lot of renovations to the donated building to meet state regulations, things such as adding a sprinkler system and installing an emergency generator.

“It is a little bit frustrating when you put your trust and hope into the hands of other people because I can’t say this is how we’re going to be licensed, I can’t say,” Brown said. “If I could I would and we’d be done and we would have babies by now, but I think we just have to know that things don’t always happen in our timeline.”

Brown use to be a volunteer “cuddler” for drug exposed babies at Cabell Huntington Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. From there she decided something had to be done for babies born addicted to drugs or alcohol. She along with others in the community have collected donations ranging from a building, to diapers in establishing Lily’s Place in Huntington.

The approximately seven thousand-square-foot building will house 17 nurseries. Babies will be transferred there from facilities that have NICU units, so they can then be cared for a little longer than the hospitals can.

Brown said much of the holdup now is in waiting for state officials and the Department of Health and Human Resources to classify the facility. Brown says since it’s a facility like no other in West Virginia, there is confusion on how to deal with Lily’s Place.

That uncertainty has slowed things down as the DHHR tries to figure out how to designate the facility. The ability to receive Medicaid money depends on how Lily’s Place is designated. That money could be crucial in helping Lily’s Place continue to function once the doors are open.

“Funding is going to be an ongoing concern because obviously because if we’re reimbursed for patient care through Medicaid that doesn’t pay for a hole in the roof, it’s going to be a long-term issue with keeping the building up and running, writing grants and subsidizing our income with community events and whatnot,” Brown said.

Brown though isn’t worried about the community stepping up. So far people have come through by donating diapers and supplies and decorating nurseries with their own money. They hope to have a decision from the DHHR in the new few weeks. 

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