Caring for the Newborn: Trends in Prenatal and Neonatal Care
Prenatal and neonatal care concerns the technologies and approaches in caring for babies both before and after they are born. It’s a crucial component of pediatrics as well as ensuring the health and overall well-being of expecting mothers. With the advent of new technology today, we are seeing improvements in all aspects of neonatal care.
Considering how sophisticated modern technology has become, it’s important for both healthcare providers and the general public to learn about new trends and disruptions in this field that are brought up each year.
Let’s take a look at the trends in neonatal care that matter in 2019:
Improvements in parenteral nutrition
One important development in neonatal health is the increasing focus on total parenteral nutrition (or TPN) practices. Also known as IV nutrition, this practice involves the introduction of nutrients directly to the body via intravenous methods. This is mostly used for patients that are unable to feed through the mouth due to digestive unrest. Recently, numerous studies have sought to improve current guidelines on the preparation and administration of TPNs, particularly with regard to the appropriate concentration and formulation of amino acids. Focus is placed on making TPNs more accessible and safer for the general public.
Developments in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
ART remains an important element in neonatal care as it provides evidence-based solutions to infertility. Innovations in ART have become more accessible over the years, giving couples more viable and safer solutions in an effort to conceive and eliminate complications for both the carrier and baby.
Developments such as Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), for one, allows for the identification of transferable genetic conditions that can affect a newborn later on. By ensuring the genetic hurdles couples may face, PGD makes it easier to anticipate diseases, as well as allowing couples to better prepare for any complications that might arise in the future. At any rate, getting a gestational carrier remains a more viable solution in ensuring normal childbirth and reducing the risk of disease transference. It is only a matter of finding a well-equipped clinic such as Conceiveabilities surrogacy agency, which features a matching process that selects the best possible gestational carriers.
Improvements in embryoscopy
Embryoscopy is the practice of monitoring the development of embryos within a given time period. Innovations in this area are providing a better way to determine the safe transference of embryos. The technology works by generating a time-lapse capture of the embryo during certain stages of the development process. Although a form of ART, neonatal doctors can also leverage this technology in reducing pregnancy complications in mothers.
Focus on infant mortality
Deaths from neonatal diseases are still on an uptrend in the developing world. With an estimated 4 million deaths per year, high infant mortality rates remain a considerable challenge for international organizations to address. Much of these improvements are focused more on improving infant resuscitation practices and improving neonatal facilities through government and non-government actors.
Neonatal health is still a crucial part of healthcare in general and it’s only proper that continued innovation should be underscored in improving standards and practices for the very people in need of such services.