Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN
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J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs · May 2007
ReviewThermoregulation and heat loss prevention after birth and during neonatal intensive-care unit stabilization of extremely low-birthweight infants.
Extremely low-birthweight infants have inefficient thermoregulation due to immaturity and may exhibit cold body temperatures after birth and during their first 12 hours of life. Hypothermia in these infants can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Therefore, nursing interventions should be undertaken to prevent heat loss during these caregiver procedures. Nurses can improve the thermal environment for extremely low-birthweight infants by prewarming the delivery room and placing the infant in a plastic bag up to the neck during delivery room stabilization to prevent heat loss.
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J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs · May 2007
ReviewInduced hypothermia for neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy causes significant morbidity and mortality in neonates. Preventing the secondary reperfusion injury that occurs following a hypoxic-ischemic event is paramount to ensuring the best possible neurologic outcome for the neonate. ⋯ This article highlights the pathophysiology of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and the rationale behind the effectiveness of induced hypothermia. Nursing care and management of neonates being treated with induced hypothermia are discussed.
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One of the problems that plagues premature infants is retinopathy of prematurity, a potentially blinding disease that occurs because the retina is immature before 34 weeks gestation and must develop in a suboptimal environment when a baby is born early. Prevention by minimizing oxygen exposure has been somewhat effective, but survival of the tiniest babies has led to a recent resurgence in cases. Oxygen targeting and early surgery show promise to reduce the risk of blindness in the smallest premature infants. Nurses play an important role in oxygen management and parental support.
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J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs · May 2007
ReviewPrecocious puberty: a comprehensive review of literature.
Precocious puberty currently affects 1 in 5,000 children and is 10 times more common in girls. Statistics indicate that girls in the United States are maturing at an earlier age than they did 30 years ago and the number of girls with diagnosed precocious puberty (the appearance of secondary sex characteristics before 8 years of age or the onset of menarche before age 9) is on the rise. A summary of the growing body of literature on this topic is necessary to inform nurses and other health care providers of the current trends and incidence of precocious puberty to better meet the physical and psychosocial needs of these girls and their families. ⋯ Precocious puberty has health and social implications that are complex and influenced by multiple factors. Further research is needed to expand and elucidate theoretical relationships between the early development of secondary sex characteristics in young girls and the proposed causative factors.