randy@umcp-cs.UUCP (06/03/84)
Paraphrase of a news item heard on "All Things Considered": Medical researchers in South America have found a new technique for handling premature babies. Rather than placing the baby in an incubator upon birth, they put it next to the mother's breast and keep it there round the clock. They claim this improves the baby's chances of surviving significantly. Novel idea. Guess we'd better wait for AMA approval though before using it in this country. :-] -- Randy Trigg ...!seismo!umcp-cs!randy (Usenet) randy%umcp-cs@CSNet-Relay (Arpanet)
saquigley@watmath.UUCP (Sophie Quigley) (06/05/84)
Hum, I wonder what this new technique does to the mother's chance for survival (-: Seriously, how does one keep the baby on the mother's breast 'round the clock for a few months? Sophie Quigley ...!{clyde,ihnp4,decvax}!watmath!saquigley
annej@hammer.UUCP (Anne Jacko) (06/08/84)
I heard the same article, and I *think* they said they use it for babies that are over 4 lb. at birth. I imagine that a smaller baby would be much less likely to survive without the special technical help provided by respirators and incubators, since their lungs and temperature control systems are more likely to be quite immature.