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Introduction The first exchanges between a newborn baby and its mother are essential. Any separation can have negative effects on the establishment of the first connections as well as breastfeeding. Objective To establish the current state of management of healthy newborn babies in the delivery room and assess the reasons for possible separation and the feelings of mothers facing this separation. Materials and methods Observational descriptive single-center study, made up of two parts: 1/a questionnaire given to the mothers, postpartum; 2/the collection of data concerning the transfer of healthy newborn babies to the nursery. Results The study took place over a period of 8 weeks. Eighty-five mothers were interviewed. Seventy-two percent of the newborn babies left the delivery room during the first 2 h of life. For 67 %, the duration of skin-to-skin contact was less than 1 h. For 49 %, the main reason was the performance of routine care. The mothers were satisfied with the care provided in the delivery room. Conclusion Too many healthy newborn babies are separated from their mothers during the first 2 h of life, mainly for routine care. Skin-to-skin contact must be part of the physiological reception of newborn babies in the delivery room. The medical staff and parents must be informed of this aspect and its beneficial effects. It is necessary to reconsider the organization of practices to propose a management system that promotes the establishment of a strong mother–child bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal Hypernatremia Deshytration of breastfed infants (BHND) is a potentially very serious complication that has been reported among infants with breastfeeding problems in the first few weeks of life. BHND occurs mainly due to insufficient breast milk intake by infants when breastfeeding is not established properly. Breastfeeding remains the best option for feeding healthy infants due to well known benefits for mother and baby and all efforts should be made to promote it successfully. Although it is a rare condition to healthy term newborns, in this article we aim to draw attention to the seriousness of this condition due to its potential brain damage as well as the risk factors wich may lead to her appearance, the clinical manifestations after wich it is recognized and the way in wich can be prevented and treated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONTEXT. It was proposed that the association between low birth weight and adult insulin resistance is principally genetically mediated. The insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene was associated with insulin sensitivity in adults. OBJECTIVE. Our goal was to investigate the relationship between angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism and the insulin sensitivity in healthy newborns. PATIENTS AND METHODS. One hundred eighty healthy newborns, all of whom had a 1-minute Apgar score of >7 and gestational age >33 weeks, were enrolled in the study. Fasting glucose and insulin levels were measured on day 2 or 3 after birth, and angiotensin-converting enzyme genotype was determined. RESULTS. The observed frequency distribution of angiotensin-converting enzyme genotypes did not deviate from that predicted by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in this group. There were no statistically significant differences in birth size and shape in different angiotensin-converting enzyme genotypes. Those carriers of the genotype homozygous for the deletion allele had the highest logarithmically transformed homeostasis model assessment compared with those who were heterozygous or homozygous for the insertion polymorphism. When compared with those with ≥ 1 insertion allele, those of the genotype homozygous for the deletion allele had significantly higher logarithmically transformed fasting insulin and logarithmically transformed homeostasis model assessment results. Regarding birth weight, birth length, ponderal index, and fasting glucose concentration, there were no significant differences between the genotype homozygous for the deletion allele and the genotypes heterozygous or homozygous for the insertion allele. CONCLUSIONS. In this study, the deletion allele was associated with relatively impaired insulin sensitivity in healthy neonates. It may be a clue to explain the association between the deletion allele and insulin resistance in the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate plasma protein Z (PZ) levels in healthy and high-risk newborn infants.Methods: A longitudinal observational study was conducted. Inclusion criteria were: healthy term and preterm newborns normal for gestational age and newborns belonging to one of the following groups: newborns small for gestational age (SGA), newborns affected by respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), newborns from mothers with pre-eclampsia. Newborns with sepsis, congenital malformation or haemorrhagic disorders were excluded. Plasma PZ levels, protein C (PC) concentration, PC activity and protein-induced vitamin K absence levels were measured.Results: 53 newborns were enrolled into the study. PZ and PC antigen levels varied significantly among analysed subgroups on day 1 (p < 0.01): lower levels of these inhibitors were found in RDS newborns (group C), newborns from mothers affected by pre-eclampsia (group D) and SGA newborns (group E) than in healthy term and preterm newborns (groups A and B).Conclusion: PZ deficiency occurs in newborns affected by severe RDS, in newborns from pre-eclamptic mothers and in SGA newborns, probably owing to activated coagulation in the first two conditions and to reduced PZ synthesis in the last condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noninvasive Doppler-derived cardiac output was measured with the pulsed Doppler method in 22 healthy newborns during their first four days of life. Maximal blood flow velocity in the aorta was measured with the Doppler ultrasound method. The mean Doppler-derived cardiac output was 273±59 ml/min/kg. Ductal left-to-right shunting was also determined and then graded according to the flow in the main pulmonary artery. The mean Doppler-derived cardiac output was 301±61 ml/min/kg when there was a moderate ductal left-to-right shunt, 266±59 ml/min/kg when the shunting was mild, and 260±53 ml/min/kg when there was no shunting ductus. The Doppler-derived cardiac output was significantly higher when there was a moderate left-to-right shunt than without such shunting. This method seems to be a useful approach in monitoring the cardiac function of newborns without unduly disturbing their condition. Normal values on Doppler-derived cardiac output have to be judged in relation to the magnitude of ductal left-to-right shunt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2001, newborn hearing screening has been performed in Japan. This study compared newborn hearing screening results between the MAICO MB11 BERAphone (MB11) and the Natus ALGO2e color (ALGO) Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR) devices among healthy Japanese newborns. From December 2014 to April 2018, 1477 healthy newborns were screened by MB11 and 267 by ALGO. Data from at-risk newborns were not included. Outcomes were 'Pass' and 'Refer' rates, specificity, false-positive rates, and assessment duration. Infants with a Refer result were examined using Interacoustics Eclipse. MB11 identified 1425 (96.5%) as Pass and 52 (3.5%) as Refer. ALGO identified 263 (98.5%) as Pass and four (1.5%) as Refer. Specificity and false-positive rates were 97.7% and 2.3% for MB11 and 98.5% and 1.5% for ALGO, respectively. Using MB11, the total mean assessment time was 320.2 ± 220.7 s, with 315.6 ± 214.2 s for Pass and 628.6 ± 288.8 s for Refer. MB11 is useful for hearing screening in healthy Japanese newborns and is fast and easy to operate. MB11 showed high specificity equivalent to ALGO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Banked donor milk (BDM) has historically been used as an alternative to formula for preterm infants. Recently, BDM has been endorsed by two national organizations for use in healthy infants. We sought to quantify utilization trends and characteristics of mothers and their healthy newborns who received BDM during their postpartum stay between 2013 and 2016 at a single academic medical center., Materials and Methods: In this observational study, we used a clinical log to identify all infants who received BDM in the well-baby nursery between July 2013 and June 2016. From this log, we abstracted data on the numbers of babies who received BDM, the quantity of BDM provided, and indications for usage. We also collected clinical data from the medical records of a subset of corresponding mothers and infants., Results: BDM utilization increased over time in healthy infants, with 0.04% of infants before July 2014 receiving BDM compared with 4.7% in July 2015 to June 2016. During the same periods, the number of bottles provided per infant also increased, from 0.6 bottles per infant to 4.6 bottles per infant. The most common indications for providing BDM were parent/caregiver request (19%) and excessive weight loss/dehydration (17%)., Conclusion: At our center, the use of BDM for healthy infants increased substantially over the study period. More research is urgently needed to understand the repercussions of this practice on resource utilization as well as short- and long-term breastfeeding and health outcomes.