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You might say newborns are “blank slates” as far as experience goes. But their brains already have plenty of “hard wiring” at birth. These systems will be fine tuned as they begin to react to the world around them. This is why brain injuries at birth are such a serious concern. Early brain damage cripples…

It’s D-day! We’re talking about Delivery-day. It’s time for a mother to go into the hospital with a giant pregnant belly, and come out with a newborn. Hopefully, she won’t leave with an additional unwanted stowaway: staph bacteria. This staph bacteria leads to staff infections in babies, and can cause scalded skin syndrome as well. (Staphylococcal…

There’s one place you’ll probably visit at least once in your lifetime. The hospital! Whether it’s for an illness, a couple of stitches, or just to be born, we go to hospitals hoping that the professionals inside will take good care of us. Providing that “good care” is often the responsibility of more than one…

How did this happen? That’s the first thing parents wonder when their child receives a diagnosis of Erb’s palsy. And then they wonder: what are some Erb’s palsy causes?  You’ll find this often serious birth injury near the top of the list of the most common birth injuries in the US. In fact, 1 in…

Thank science for anesthesia! Without it, we would have to endure the excruciating pain of surgery. Worse still, we would remember every second of it. But anesthesia ensures there are only two things we remember about an operation. One, drifting off to dreamland. Two, waking up thinking, “Wait…it’s already over?” Yes, anesthesia is helpful. But…

Even before birth, a mother and her child share a bond as tight as a knot. But there’s a different kind of tight knot that no mother wishes to share with her child. We’re talking about umbilical cord knots. These knots are dangerous for a fetus if left untreated. But is it possible to prevent umbilical…