CURRENT CARE CONTROVERSIES
ANTEPARTUM TESTING
A few guidelines to keep in mind when facing the battery of possible tests you will consider doing during your pregnancy. Just because a test exists doesn’t mean that you need to do it. Most of us think that we should test for everything we can and it will give us the certainty we crave of the baby’s well being. We are therefore grateful that such testing exists, and should be, as long as we don’t ignore the obvious caveat that we will have to deal with the results.
Usually the most damaging aspect of agreeing to many antepartum tests is that we are unaware as to what information the test will really give us. We tend to be a bit blinded by our desire to know everything, hence the reverence of the technology that can deliver this certainty. I know that because of this, the decision to undergo available tests can be a complicated one. Please discuss any questions or concerns you may have about these tests, during our next visit.
NEONATAL JAUNDICE
Mitchell, Nina, “Learning About Jaundice” in New Beginnings, Vol. 10 No. 1, January-February 1993, pp. 12-13.
“Neonatal Jaundice – How Much do We Really Know?”
VACCINATIONS
Following are links to information regarding the complicated issue of immunizations:
Think Twice Global Vaccine Institute
New Yorkers for Vaccine Information and Choice
Recommended Schedule for Immunization of Normal Infants and Children
Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines
VITAMIN K
Following are links to research on the benefits and risks of administering vitamin K:
Tandoi et al, “Vitamin K prophylaxis: Leaving the old route for the new one?” in Acta Pædiatrica, 2005; 94 (Suppl 449): 125–128.
Thomas & Gebara, “Difficulty Breathing” in Clinical Pediatrics, June 2004; 43:499-502
Hansen et al, “Weekly oral vitamin K prophylaxis in Denmark” in Acta Pædiatrica, 2003; 92: 802–805.
Enoch, Jennifer, “Babies and Vitamin K” in Midwifery Today, Issue 56, Winter 2000.
(for a copy of the complete article, please contact our office)
“Controversies Concerning Vitamin K and the Newborn” in Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Vol. 112 No. 1 July 2003, pp. 191-192.
“Vitamin K for Your Baby” in Midirs in collaboration with the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination