Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association
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Consent for participation in clinical research is considered valid if it is informed, understood, and voluntary. In the case of minors, parents give permission for their child to participate in research studies after being presented with all information needed to make an informed decision. Although informed consent is a vital component of clinical research, there is little information evaluating its validity in neonatal intensive-care populations. The objective of this project was to determine the validity of informed consent obtained from parents of infants enrolled in the multicenter randomized research study, neurologic outcomes and pre-emptive analgesia in the neonate (NEOPAIN). ⋯ Valid consent in the antenatal/perinatal population is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. To maximize validity of consent in the antenatal/perinatal population every effort should be made to include mothers in the consent process. Additional attention during the consent process should be given to possible risks of the study.
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Traumatic injury following a motor vehicle accident during pregnancy has an enormous potential for fetal injury and demise. With the advent of seat belts, shoulder restraints and airbags, and improved maternal survival, the most common cause of fetal loss is placental injury. However, the safety of airbag deployment during pregnancy and in particular during the latter stages, and the potential for fetal trauma remains unclear. We report a case of extensive neurological injury of a premature infant with minimal maternal trauma associated with deployment of an airbag following a minor motor vehicle accident.
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To determine the relative frequencies of complications in severe early intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) infants. ⋯ Infants born prematurely who are also severely IUGR have higher neonatal morbidity and mortality when compared to infants of similar gestational age. The surviving IUGR infants had less intraventricular hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia than less mature infants of comparable birth weight, but a similar incidence of ROP and length of stay. They had a higher incidence of NEC, direct hyperbilirubinemia and chronic lung disease, probably due to end-organ damage in utero from chronic placental insufficiency. These findings highlight the unique pattern of mortality and morbidity seen in infants with severe early IUGR.