Cure Research for Premature Birth

Treatments for Premature Birth

Treatments to consider for Premature Birth may include:

Anti-contraction medications
Corticosteroids - help to stimulate the growth of fetal lungs to produce surfactant
Possible delivery measures include:
- Vaginal delivery
more treatments...»

Medical Research Breakthroughs and Premature Birth

Too much iron is not too good: A new study suggests that extra iron for infants who don't need it might delay development -- results that fuel the debate over optimal iron supplement levels and could have huge implications for the baby formula and food industry. U.S. infant formulas typically come fortified with 12 mg/L of iron to prevent iron-deficiency anemia. Europe generally uses a lower amount. In infants, iron-deficiency anemia is associated with poorer development, and during pregnancy it contributes to anemia in mothers, contributing to premature birth, low birth weight and other complications. The University of Michigan study of 494 Chilean children showed that those who received iron fortified formula in infancy at the 12 mg used in the U.S. lagged behind those who received low-iron formula in cognitive and visual-motor development by age 10 years. The study stressed that most children who received the 12 mg formula did not show lower scores. But the 5 percent of the sample with the highest hemoglobin levels at 6 months showed the poorest outcome. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen. High hemoglobin generally indicates sufficient iron. Adversely affected children scored 11 points lower in IQ and 12 points lower in visual-motor integration, on average; the average overall score on both tests was 100. A similar pattern was observed for spatial memory and other visual-motor measures. They also noted that not many infants in Chile had high hemoglobin levels at the time since there was no iron-fortification program for infants and that more than 5 percent of U.S. infants might have high hemoglobin levels in early infancy. In this randomized study, healthy infants without iron-deficiency anemia were given formula with either 12 mg or 2.3 mg iron from 6 to 12 months and followed to 10 years. Iron deficiency occurs because babies grow so quickly they often "grow out" of the amount of iron they are born with. Breast milk is thought to contain the iron a baby needs for 4-6 months, says the author. Other important sources of iron for infants include iron-fortified infant formulas and cereals, iron drops and meat. Infants are typically not tested for hemoglobin or iron levels before 9-12 months. It would be premature to recommend earlier testing or to avoid supplemental iron based on the study's results.