New study suggests that a prenatal intervention program, for stopping substance use in pregnancy, could save almost $2 billion annually if it were implemented nationwide. Click here to read about this study aimed at reducing the risk of substance abuse with pregnant women.

Does your weight and diabetes affect your unborn child? Learn more by clicking on this link.

Pure Encapsulations, Inc. Issues Allergy Alert On Undeclared Egg Allergen In Prenatal Nutrients. Read more about the recall by this nutritional supplement company by clicking this link.

Can Exposure to  Pesticides While Pregnant Can Affect the IQ of the Unborn Child? This New York Times article says yes.

We are pleased to announce that we have secured additional funding and are now able to offer this conference at

no cost to you.  There is still time to register!

Register Now!

Agenda

7:30AM – 8:30AM     Registration/Breakfast

8:30AM – 8:40AM     Welcome

Richard Miller, MD, FACOG

Chairman, Department of Obstetrics

and Gynecology

Saint Barnabas Medical Center

8:40AM – 9:30AM     Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the

Genetics of Preterm Birth

Jerome Strauss, MD, PhD

Dean, Virginia Commonwealth

University School of Medicine

9:30AM – 10:15AM   Epigenetics: Linking Early Life Exposures

and Disease Susceptibility

Francine Einstein, MD

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Montefiore Medical Center

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

10:15AM – 10:45AM Break

10:45AM – 11:30AM The Influence of Infant Nutrition on Outcome

Deborah Campbell, MD, FAAP

Director, Division of Neonatology

Department of Pediatrics

The Jack D. Weiler Hospital of the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

11:30AM – 12:15PM Panel Discussion

Richard Miller, MD, FACOG

Chairman, Department of Obstetrics

and Gynecology

Saint Barnabas Medical Center

12:15PM – 1:15PM   Lunch

1:15PM – 1:30PM     Introduction

Timothy Yeh, MD, FAAP, FCCM

Chairman, Department of Pediatrics

Saint Barnabas Medical Center

1:30PM – 2:15PM    Systems-Based Initiatives to Reduce

Infant Mortality

Denice Cora-Bramble, MD, MBA

Executive Director, Goldberg Center

Community and Pediatric Health

Children’s National Medical Center

Center for Clinical and Community

Research

2:15PM – 3:00PM    Pitfalls, Opportunities & Racial

Disparity

John Thorp, MD

Division Director, Professor

North Carolina Hospital

3:00PM – 3:45PM    Panel Discussion

Timothy Yeh, MD, FAAP, FCCM

Chairman, Department of Pediatrics

Saint Barnabas Medical Center

3:45PM – 4:00PM   Closing Remarks and Evaluation

Target Audience

Neonatologists, Obstetricians/Gynecologists, Pediatricians,
Perinatologists, Family Practice Physicians, Nurses, and others
interested in perinatal medicine.

Conference Goal

To present recent research findings from the clinical and scientific
community to enhance physician knowledge about perinatal health
disparities.

Learning Objectives

*   Identify the scope of racial disparities in infant mortality
*   Identify key genetic, nutritional, and biologic factors that may
contribute to racial disparities in infant mortality
*   Ascertain appropriate system implementation of important
components of prenatal and neonatal care in regard to racial disparities
in infant mortality

Parking:

Free parking in SBMC Visitor Lot.

Continuing Medical Education:

Saint Barnabas Medical Center designates this educational activity for a
maximum of (6.0) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM.  Physicians should only
claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the
activity. Saint Barnabas Medical Center is accredited by the Medical
Society of New Jersey (MSNJ) to provide continuing education for
physicians. This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance
with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Medical Society of New
Jersey (MSNJ) through the sponsorship of Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

Contact:
Please register using the links provided.  If you have questions, please
contact:
Tanya Giro
(201) 843-7400
tgiro@nnjm-chc.org

BE IN THE KNOW Register Now! for the Perinatal Disparities Conference

Perinatal Disparities Conference

Environmental Factors May Be to Blame for Increase in Developmental Disabilities

Fox news, By Dr. Manny Alvarez

Published May 23, 2011 | FoxNews.com

According to a government report, one in six children in the United States has some kind of developmental disability. The number has been steadily increasing over the course of the past decade.

The study was based on ongoing national surveys of children under the age of 18. It included a range of disabilities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, seizures, stuttering or stammering and other developmental delays.

From 1997 to 2008, the proportion of children with at least one of the conditions increased from less than 13 percent to more than 15 percent. This translates to a rise of 1.8 million kids.

Government researchers are uncertain as to why the increase happened, but speculate that a number of factors may be responsible.

For example, there is a bigger emphasis on early treatment now, and parents are more likely to be aware of the conditions, which means that kids who may have gone undiagnosed previously are now being recognized.

On the other hand, the rise may also be due to a change in risk factors, such as parents having children later in life and having more preterm babies.

ADHD rates among children accounted for most of the rise, while autism rates showed the fastest growth. Hearing loss, meanwhile, dropped over the course of the study period.

Researchers say that it is important for medical professionals to be prepared to accommodate the increasing numbers of children with developmental disorders. They also encourage parents to continue to have their children screened, because it is possible that despite the noticeable increase, a number of children may still be going undiagnosed.

I agree with the government’s advice and want to emphasize how important early screening is. The earlier a developmental disability is caught, the less it will affect the course of a child’s life. I have seen this myself with my son, who was diagnosed with a very early age with autism and has made huge strides since.

I also want to further question why this is happening. A part of me truly feels that we are metabolically poisoning ourselves from all the chemicals we get exposed to on a daily basis, whether it’s food, electronics or environmental pollutants.

I fear that we are going backwards in dealing with the complications that we typically have been trying to avoid in pregnant women for the past 15 years. I think part of the problem is that many women still don’t realize the significance of being healthy prior to pregnancy or don’t understand the advice of obstetricians and midwives.

To minimize the risk of a child being born with a disability, it is important curb risk factors such as maternal obesity and smoking. Good nutrition and mental stimulation is also key in encouraging healthy development.

By decreasing or eliminating these risk factors, hopefully we can see a decrease in childhood disabilities over the next decade.

Read more

The World Health Organization lists priority medicines for children and pregnant women. NY Times, By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr., March 28, 2011
The World Health Organization recently released its first list of what it called “the top 30 medicines to save mothers and children,” a formulary of drugs that every hospital and clinic in every poor country should have.
More than eight million children under age 5 die each year, and 1,000 women die each day from complications of pregnancy or birth. Many could be saved with cheap drugs or simple interventions like antibacterial soap and Epsom salts. The list includes no expensive brand-name drugs and emphasizes ones that come as dry pills or powders, which can be shipped cheaply and mixed into liquids for children on site.
On the W.H.O.’s list were oxytocin and saline solution to treat birth hemorrhages, and Epsom salts and calcium gluconate for runaway high blood pressure in pregnancy.
The list contains several antibiotics to prevent infections picked up in childbirth or during abortions, as well as to treat pneumonia and infections of the blood or brain in children.
The new list includes misoprostol to induce labor, and nifedipine and betamethasone to prevent premature births. To treat diarrhea, W.H.O. suggested oral rehydration salts and zinc. For malaria, the list recommends combination drugs that contain artemisinin, and for advanced malaria, artesunate. For AIDS, it suggested some of the common antiretroviral triple therapy combinations.
W.H.O. also suggested vitamin A for measles. The vitamin doesn’t prevent the infection, but a child taking it is less likely to die with measles.
The full list of priority medicines for children and pregnant can be found by clicking this link.