The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Bureau of Economic Research. ABSTRACT Recent research into the implications of low birth weight may be plagued by unobserved variable bias. It is unclear whether the later-life consequences found to be associated with low birth weight are a true effect of " poundage " at birth, or whether this associat...

INTRODUCTION Infant mortality rate (IMR) is an indicator of the health status of a population and of the quality of and access to health care services. In 2000, and within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals, Argentina committed to achieve by 2015 a reduction by two thirds of its 1990 infant mortality rate, and to identify and close inter-jurisdictional gaps. The objective of this...

BACKGROUND A proportion of neonatal deaths from asphyxia have been shown to be associated with pre-existing brain injury. OBJECTIVES (a) To compare the epidemiology of infants displaying signs of birth asphyxia with those not showing signs; (b) to examine the neuropathology and determine if possible the timing of brain insult comparing asphyxiated with non-asphyxiated infants; (c) to compare ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services on child survival in a socio-economically backward rural community. SETTING Twelve villages in Pondicherry with a population of 16,803. DESIGN Prospective study. SUBJECTS A birth cohort of 356 live births (LB) born between January 1st and December 31st 1988. METHODS The live births were followed-up from birth ...

BACKGROUND Infant morbidity causes a substantial resource burden, however, its magnitude and pattern in developing countries is still unknown. MATERIAL AND METHOD The authors prospectively followed a cohort of 2,739 children over a one-year period in three rural areas of Thailand to detect the hospitalized infant morbidity. RESULTS The incidence of morbidity was 454.9/1,000 live births. The...

OBJECTIVE Neurological manifestations of neonatal disorders have various causes, among them neonatal tetanus, albeit rare, is a potentially fatal and preventable disease, which is seen in underdeveloped and developing countries. Although the disease has been eradicated from I.R. Iran, pregnant women immigrating to Iran from neighboring countries, especially from eastern border, may carry a risk...

BACKGROUND Elective caesarean section has replaced vaginal delivery for term breech foetuses due to fear of complications of vaginal breech delivery. This increasing rate of caesarean section worldwide is alarming. It has not only led to increase in adverse consequences in subsequent pregnancies and future fertility but also loss of skills for vaginal breech delivery. This study was conducted t...

OBJECTIVE To study the demographic profile, prognostic indicators, and mortality of tetanus patients and treatment outcomes following intramuscular anti-tetanus immunoglobulin (ATG) alone or combined intrathecal and intramuscular ATG. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING Inpatients from a tertiary care hospital. SUBJECTS One hundred children under 12 years of age diagnosed with tetanus and...

BACKGROUND Congenital heart defects (CHD) and preterm birth (PTB) are major causes of infant mortality. However, limited data exist on risk of mortality associated with PTB for newborns with CHD. Our objective was to assess impact of PTB on risk of infant mortality for newborns with CHD, while taking into account the role of associated anomalies and other potentially confounding factors. METH...

In this study, we investigated the effects of administration of coumestrol during pregnancy on calcium (Ca) metabolism in post-delivery maternal and neonatal mice. From 6.5 to 16.5 days post coitus (dpc), pregnant females were administered daily doses of coumestrol (200 microg/kg body weight/day). One day after parturition, blood samples and the kidneys, liver, jejunum and duodenum were obtaine...