Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Joan Rosen Bloch

Publications and source records attributed to Joan Rosen Bloch.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Postpartum health in mothers of term and preterm infants.

Mothers have inadequate information about what to expect in the postpartum period in terms of their own health. Understanding common patterns of postpartum health may be particularly important for mothers of preterm low birthweight infants, so that they can plan how to optimize their own health as they care for their vulnerable infants. The purpose of this study was to compare the health of mothers of preterm and term infants prospectively for the first four months following delivery. This longitudinal descriptive study measured health status of 33 mothers of preterm infants and 32 mothers of term infants using health diaries and the Health Review Questionnaire every month for the first four months following delivery. No difference was observed between the two groups of mothers in how ill mothers reported feeling over time. The most common symptoms mothers experienced were headaches and cold symptoms. On average mothers reported between one and four days every month that they were not able to conduct their usual activities. Mothers reported feeling ill more frequently than they sought health care. The average mother at four months postpartum was still reporting she felt ill between 3 and 7 days during the month. This study has implications for families, health care providers, and policy makers.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Special education services and school performance in a regional cohort of low-birthweight infants at age nine.

Previous research has shown that low birthweight is a predictor of several adverse educational outcomes, including special educational placement, by middle school age. Most low-birthweight follow-up studies that have extended to school age have focused on very small infants-- < 1500 or < 1000 g; less is known of the school age outcomes for infants with only moderately low birthweight (1500-2000 g). This study examines the prevalence of special educational placement and the relationship of such placement to grade retention, verbal and performance scores on tests of general intelligence, reading and maths achievement scores and classroom hyperactivity among low-birthweight children. In a regional birth cohort of 1105 infants born between 1984 and 1987 and weighing 500-2000 g, 868 children were available for follow-up at age nine. Information on special education placement as well as grade retention, intelligence, academic achievement and classroom behaviour was available on 645 (74% completion rate). Nearly a third of the cohort was classified as needing special education. Special education placement followed a birthweight gradient, occurring among 29.3% of children with birthweights 1500-2000 g, among 32.5% in children 1000-1500 g and 49.4% in children < 1000 g. Among children in special education, a similar birthweight gradient was found for maths achievement and hyperactivity, but not for reading achievement or IQ scores. Among children not in special education, only maths achievement showed such a decline with birthweight. A substantial proportion of low-birthweight children, including those of moderate low birthweight, receive special education services, although the need is greatest among those with the lowest birthweights. Maths achievement declined with birthweight regardless of educational placement. The medical and social risk factors that accompany low birthweight and may account for these findings, require further study.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antenatal events causing neonatal brain injury in premature infants.

Understanding possible causes of neonatal brain injury is important for perinatal nurses because neonatal brain injury predicts subsequent infant mortality and morbidity in the premature infant. The pathogenesis of the brain injury, germinal matrix/intraventricular hemorrhage and white matter damage, is usually related to a hypoxic event. The hypoxic event may occur in utero, resulting from various conditions, such as maternal infection, maternal alcohol consumption, maternal smoking, placental bleeding disorders, maternal hypercoagulability conditions, metabolic disorders (diabetes and hyperthyroidism), and oligohydramnios. Strategies for prevention beginning before and in pregnancy are needed.

Brain↗