Infant Mortality Rate Essay

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High infant mortality rate is a global dilemma, but with ongoing research and medical discoveries, high infant mortality rates may lower or completely diminish. There are several causes of infant mortality such as: hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, respiratory failure and traumatic stress. Several technologies have been developed to reduce the infant mortality rate. The artificial placenta, hypothermia therapy, stress therapy are technologies/techniques that may help alleviate the infant mortality rate. Case studies have been performed to further explore the impact that these medical breakthroughs may have on the infant mortality rate on a global scale. Research performed by Duke University, McMaster University, and Stanford University has also …show more content…

Causes are birth defects, maternal complications of pregnancy, preterm birth, sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS, and injuries. The infant mortality rate varies from country to country. Ten countries with the highest global infant mortality rates (in decreasing order) are: Sierra Leone, Angola, Central African Republic, Somalia, Chad, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria and Lesotho. Ten countries with the lowest global infant mortality rates (in decreasing order) are: Andorra, Hong Kong SAR, China, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore, Slovenia, and Sweden. There are many factors that correlate with the infant mortality rate of a certain country such as infrastructure, availability of healthcare, transportation and birthing traditions. Medical conditions that cause infant mortality are hypercapnia, hypoxemia, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, respiratory failure, and traumatic stress disorder. Hypercapnia is a rise in the levels of arterial carbon dioxide. Hypoxemia is a drop in the oxygen saturation of the blood cells. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is described as a brain injury caused by oxygen …show more content…

Dr.William Benitz of Stanford University has contributed to publications such as “Prevention of traumatic stress in mothers of preterms: 6-month outcomes.” His research demonstrated the positive outcomes of therapy for mothers experiencing stress disorder. Case studies by Dr.William Benitz and several other scientists were performed for mothers of preterm neonates, the outcome showed that the 6 session therapy reduced traumatic stress, trauma, anxiety and depression in mothers of neonates on the Davidson Trauma scale (Cohen’s d=-0.74, P<0.001), Beck Depression Inventory II (Cohen’s d=-0.638, P=0.002). There were no differences in the effect sizes between the 6 and 9 session interventions. Other scientists and Dr.William Benitz also contributed to a publication “Red blood cell transfusion is not associated with necrotizing enterocolitis: a review of consecutive transfusions in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit” where the cohort of the study were infants who weighed less than 1500 grams that received at least one packaged red blood cell transfusion in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit. The relation between necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and transfusion was assessed. The conclusion of the study was

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