How determination made fish oil an FDA-approved medicine for babies

By Sherrie Voss Matthews

December 10, 2018

Categories: News  /  NICU  /  Pregnancy

Dr. Cynthia Blanco’s passion to save premature babies was instrumental in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of Omegaven, a lifesaving fish oil treatment for babies with gastrointestinal complications. Blanco’s study followed the outcomes of babies treated with fish oil in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at University Hospital. “Overall, since 2011, we have had more than 50 patients enrolled in our long-term study and their survival without liver transplant increased dramatically ― to better than 90 percent,” she said. Omegaven is a fish oil-based solution that is used to provide nutrition to critically ill patients. It has …Read More >

Tags: Maternal-Fetal Medicine, NICU, Omegaven, pregnancy

A medical miracle

By UHS News Team

May 18. 2018

Categories: Children's Health  /  News  /  NICU  /  Pregnancy  /  Research  /  Surgery

Halfway through what would have been a normal pregnancy, Adriana Zepeda went into premature labor with her second child. She delivered little Amber at 24 weeks gestation and a birth weight of just over one pound.To put it into context, a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks. Prematurity is considered a birth before 37 weeks. Any baby born at 25 weeks or earlier is considered extremely premature. It wasn’t that long ago that babies such as Amber would not have survived, said Dr. Cynthia Blanco, medical director of the Neonatal Nutrition & Bone Institute at University Health System and professor of …Read More >

Tags: NICU, prematurity

Heading off diabetes in the womb?

By UHS News Team

July 21, 2017

Categories: Children's Health  /  Diabetes  /  News  /  NICU  /  Pregnancy  /  Research

Diabetes runs in families. And for years, doctors have advised those at high risk of diabetes to eat sensibly to prevent getting the disease. Now, a new study involving several San Antonio organizations is asking a seemingly odd question that could have a major impact on the worldwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes: What if that advice should begin before birth? “We’re trying to figure out if babies are preprogrammed to have a certain body composition that depends on the maternal-fetal environment,” said Dr. Cynthia Blanco, medical director of the Neonatal Nutrition & Bone Institute at University Health System, and …Read More >

Tags: diabetes, newborns, nutrition

Strengthening mother-baby bonds in the NICU

By UHS News Team

March 2, 2017

Categories: Children's Health  /  News  /  NICU  /  Pregnancy  /  Research

The bond between mother and newborn is not only powerful, it’s important for the healthy development of the child, research has shown. But when a baby is born too soon or has other medical problems requiring a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, fear and uncertainty can interfere with the forming of those bonds. “We see moms looking terrified,” Umber Darilek, a registered nurse at University Hospital, told Texas Public Radio reporter Wendy Rigby. “A lot of women don’t know how to approach their babies, especially when there are tubes and lines coming out of all directions.” To try …Read More >

Tags: bonding, newborn, NICU, pregnancy

A video chat with baby

By UHS News Team

June 3, 2015

Categories: Children's Health  /  News  /  NICU  /  Pregnancy  /  Technology

It’s one of the most joyous times in life — the birth of a baby. But sometimes medical reasons can keep mom and baby apart for hours, days or even weeks. That the time when physical and emotional bonds are formed. And while separation can’t always be avoided, University Health System’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is using some popular technology to make it easier on both mother and child. Baby Chat uses iPads and Apple’s FaceTime application to allow the newborns to hear the sound of their mother’s voice, and for moms to see and hear the movement, breathing and …Read More >

Tags: babies, FaceTime, iPad, pregnancy

Saving precious sight

By UHS News Team

July 7, 2014

Categories: Children's Health  /  News  /  NICU  /  Pregnancy  /  Research  /  Technology

It’s among the happiest moments for new parents, when their baby makes eye contact and smiles in recognition. But for very premature babies, a common and potentially blinding eye disease can rob families of that moment. More than half of all infants born 10 or more weeks prematurely have some level of retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP — a disease in which blood vessels in the back of the eye grow abnormally. That can lead to scarring and detachment of the retina. About 5 to 8 percent require treatment, which involves destroying the abnormal blood vessels with lasers or a …Read More >

Tags: babies, NICU, pregnancy, premature, research, telemedicine, vision

A vital ingredient for baby’s health

By UHS News Team

May 29, 2014

Categories: Children's Health  /  News  /  NICU  /  Pregnancy

Are you getting enough iodine in your diet? A new policy statement by a national physicians’ group says there’s a good chance you aren’t — and that’s worrisome if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. It could be risky for your child. Iodine is an essential element for a baby’s brain to develop normally. And if mom gets too little, it can weaken both her and her child’s defenses against certain environmental pollutants — including some found in some foods and public water supplies. The American Academy of Pediatrics said this week that many pregnant and breastfeeding women should be taking iodine supplements …Read More >

Tags: brain, lactation, nutrition, pregnancy, salt, supplements

Helping babies who can’t eat

By UHS News Team

Categories: Children's Health  /  News  /  NICU

As a newborn, Eluterio Mireles’ tiny body lacked the normal length of intestine needed to properly absorb nutrients through normal feeding. It’s an uncommon problem, but not a rare one. And babies who suffer from it usually are fed intravenously — a therapy known as parenteral nutrition, or PN. While PN has been a lifesaver for babies such as Eluterio, doctors have long known that over many months — often until the intestine matures or an intestinal transplant is performed — PN treatment can damage the liver. Sometimes a liver transplant is required; other times the babies do not survive. …Read More >

Tags: children's health, fish oil, gastrointestinal, liver, NICU, nutrition, research