[net.kids] A "new" medical technique

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.