Joy in Birthing

“Since first emerging in the 1970s, GBS has been the primary cause of life-threatening illness and death in newborns. GBS exists in the reproductive tract of 20-25% of all pregnant women. Although no more than 2% of these women develop invasive infection, 40-73% transmit bacteria to their babies during delivery.”

So…before 1970 there were no documented cases of GBS disease? And out of 25% of all pregnant woman, 40-73% (anyone see eschewed numbers here??? That is a very wide % gap!) will transmit to their baby. Which in turn is 3%…. so out of 25 women, 3 of those will transmit GBS bacteria to their baby, out of those 3, 1 baby will become seriously infected by GBS disease.

“About 12,000 of the 3,500,000 babies born in this country each year develop GBS disease in infancy. About 75% of them develop early-onset infection. Sometimes evident within a few hours of birth and always apparent within the first week of life, this condition causes inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cordmeningitis (meningitis), pneumonia, blood infection (sepsis) and other problems.” So .003% of all infants born in the US will contract GBS disease……9000 of which will be primary infections, 3000 of which will be secondary infections……or .2% primary GB1S disease and .1% secondary. “Late-onset GBS develops between the ages of seven days and three months. It often causes meningitis. About half of all cases of this rare condition can be traced to mothers who are GBS carriers. The cause of the others is unknown” “GBS.”

A pregnant woman who has GBS infection can develop infections of the bladder blood, and urinary tract, and deliver a baby who is infected or stillborn. The risk of transmitting GBS infection during birth is highest in a woman whose labor begins before the 37th week of pregnancy or lasts more than 18 hours or who:

• Becomes a GBS carrier during the final stages of pregnancy
• Has a GBS urinary-tract infection
• Has already given birth to a baby infected with GBS
• Develops a fever during labor.

More than 13% of babies who develop GBS infection during birth or within the first few months of life develop neurologic disorders. An equal number of them die.

Among men, and in women who are not pregnant, the most common consequences of GBS infection are pneumonia and infections of blood, skin, and soft tissue. ”

So out of 12000 infected infants 1560 of them will have some type neurological disorder. and 1560 will die from GBS disease. This is….26% of infected infants. For a total number of 3120 effected infants out of 3 500,000 born in the US…..
www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00066580.html

E.coli

“E. coli is the second most common cause of bacterial meningitis in newborns GBS being number 1. E. coli causes between one-quarter and one-third of cases of meningitis in newborns, but less than 2% of cases of meningitis at all other ages.

E. coli meningitis is treated with antibiotics, but, like all forms of bacterial meningitis, it is a very serious disease, especially because most cases occur in premature infants. About 1 out of every 5 newborns with E. coli meningitis dies in spite of treatment and many survivors sustain permanent brain damage. Because most cases occur in premature babies, it may be very difficult to determine how much of the brain damage is due to meningitis and how much is due to prematurity itself.”
http://www.meningitis.ca/whatismeningitis/ecolimeningitis.asp

Meningitis

“When a newborn or young infant presents with fever and lethargy or irritability, meningitis is a primary concern. Bacterial meningitis has an incidence of about 20 to 100 cases per 100,000 live births during the newborn period.1 Aseptic meningitis is even more common. Although most types of aseptic meningitis do not cause serious sequelae, some types result in significant morbidity and mortality if not properly diagnosed and treated. Physicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for these treatable causes. ”
http://www.aafp.org/afp/990515ap/2761.html

So that is .02% to .1% or 700 to 3500 out of 3,500,000 newborns will contract Meningitis. So that means that, between 175 -210 to 875 – 1050 of the newborns that contract meningitis contract it from Ecoli.

“Meningitis is more common with late-onset GBS disease. Only about half of late-onset GBS disease among newborns comes from a mother who is a GBS carrier; the source of infection for others with late-onset GBS disease is unknown. Late-onset disease is very rare.”
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/5/1680_51737

To put some perspective on this…..

Gestational diabetes

“Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus is widely practiced despite lack of evidence that it prevents adverse perinatal outcomes. Although the disorder affects approximately 2.5 percent of pregnant women1 and has been the subject of extensive research, its diagnosis and management continue to be debated.” So out of 3,500,000 babies born, 87,500 of them are born to GD mothers. “Gestational diabetes mellitus is defined as glucose intolerance that begins or is first recognized, during pregnancy.4 A wide range of complications is associated with the disorder. For the mother, gestational diabetes increases the risk of preeclampsia, cesarean delivery, and future type 2 diabetes. In the fetus or neonate, the disorder is associated with higher rates of perinatal mortality, macrosomia, birth trauma, hyperbilirubinemia, and neonatal hypoglycemia.5-8 Some studies9-11 have found an association between gestational diabetes and increased perinatal mortality rates, but other studies have shown no increased risk.”
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20031101/1767.html

PIH

“Pregnancy induced hypertension (hi-per-ten-shun) is a high blood pressure problem caused by pregnancy. It is also called “PIH.” Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. You may have PIH if your blood pressure was normal but began to rise after the 20th week of pregnancy. PIH means more than just having high blood pressure. Many of the organs in your body may be involved with PIH. About 5 to 7 per cent of all women get PIH during pregnancy.” Again out of 3,500,000 babies born 175,000 to 245,000 are born to mothers with PIH.
http://www.medformation.com/ac/mm_qdis.nsf/qd/nd0296g.htm

Cerebral Palsy

“The NINDS is America’s leading supporter of biomedical research into
cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. Through this publication, the NINDS hopes to help the more than 4,500 American babies and infants diagnosed each year, their families, and others concerned about cerebral palsy benefit from these research results.” Out of 3,500,000 .1% of babies born in the US are diagnosed with this condition.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/cerebral_palsyhtr.htm

Breastfeeding on average for year 2001 66.9% of mothers breastfed at birth Which is 2,341,500 out of 3,500,000. However only an average of 30.35% continued on to 6 months of age. Which is 1,062,250 out of 3,500,000.
http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/pages/page_52.htm