The infant mortality rate at Cherbourg Aboriginal Community: An update

The infant mortality rate (IMR) at Cherbourg Aboriginal Community in south-eastern Queensland remained high from 1906 to about 1955-60, but since then has dropped from over 200/1000 live births in 1956-60 to 16/1000 live births in 1986-90, compared with the 1987 rate for Queensland (9.2/1000) and Australia (8.6/1000). The rapid improvement in the IMR was associated with the installation of a piped and chlorinated water supply, sewerage and an intensive campaign to eradicate intestinal worms. There has also been a change in community attitudes towards routine health practices and it is likely that this has been a major factor in the changes.     

Comparing cause-specific infant mortality in a West German state and the United States of America

The infant mortality rate in North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), the most populous West German state, has continuously been around 10% higher than the German national average in the post-war period. Using white singleton data from the US 1980 National Infant Mortality Surveillance project (NIMS) and similar 1980/1981 data from NRW we compared infant mortality by birthweight and cause to describe the distribution of excess mortality in NRW. The US infant mortality rate was 8.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 13.1/1,000 for NRW (rate difference: 4.3/1,000). Of the 4.3/1,000 overall rate difference, 1.9/1,000 was attributable to neonatal deaths, 2.4/1,000 to postneonatal deaths. A major proportion, 2.0/1,000, of the overall rate difference of 4.3/1,000 was attributable to normal birthweight deaths postneonatally. 0.85/1,000 of this 2.0/1,000 rate difference was attributable to SIDS, 0.44/1,000 to external causes and 0.42/1,000 to infections.     

Ways of combatting the high infant mortality rate in Turkey

Turkey's infant mortality rate stood at 95/1000 live births in 1982. A wide range of strategies is needed to address this situation, including better nutrition, immunization, sanitation facilities, safer drinking water, increased motivation for family planning, and improved maternal-child health services. 80% of deliveries take place at home, and 70% of women in a recent survey reported they received no health care services during their last pregnancy. The majority of women are uninformed about the principles of care involved in illnesses such as diarrhea. Respiratory diseases and infectious and parasitic diseases account for 40% of all infant deaths in Turkey. There is an urgent need for applied research to analyze the low level of utilization of Turkey's health center infrastructure. Improved management training in the health sector could establish a continuous feedback system to help local health personnel identify problem areas. The Turkish and International Children's Center could play a key role in improving the flow of information, ideas, and expertise between research groups and the health sector. problematic is the fact that key health policy documents are not available in Turkish. The World health organization (WHO) has agreed to work with the Children's Center to determine the extent and nature of WHO's role in health development in Turkey.     

Trends in research on infant nutrition, past, present and future

A review of general trends in early infant feeding is presented, with particular focus on the importance of breast feeding. That the promotion of breast feeding is highly effective is borne out by the tendency toward its prevalence in Sweden during the period 1972–94.     

The Internet: past, present and future

Although the Worldwide Web has just blossomed this past decade, the origins of the Internet date to the late 1950s and Cold War concerns. The technological underpinning of the Internet rests with the concept of packet switching of data over dispersed routes of electronic intercommunication. Grounded in applications for the national defense, and nurtured in the domains of science within academia, the Internet of the masses has exploded with the addition of strong commercial interest and potential. Electronic mail is still the predominant application of the Internet, and the ease of widespread and near simultaneous dissemination of such communication has led to the genesis of listservers, especially appropriate as well as predominant in Medicine. One such list for pediatric surgeons is Pedsurg-L. There is an impressive evolving etiquette for those contributing to such lists. Initiatives are already well developed with public and private partnerships for the future of the Internet.     

Changes in the neonatal and infant mortality rate and the causes of death in Korea

Neonatal mortality rate (NMR) or infant mortality rate (IMR) are the rate of deaths per 1,000 live births at which babies of either less than four weeks or of one year of age die, respectively. The NMR and IMR are commonly accepted as a measure of the general health and wellbeing of a population. Korea's NMR and IMR fell significantly between 1993 and 2009 from 6.6 and 9.9 to 1.7 and 3.2, respectively. Common causes of infantile death in 2008 had decreased compared with those in 1996 such as other disorders originating in the perinatal period, congenital malformation of the heart, bacterial sepsis of newborns, disorders related to length of gestation and fetal growth, intra-uterine hypoxia, birth asphyxia. However, some other causes are on the increase, such as respiratory distress of newborn, other respiratory conditions originating in the perinatal period, other congenital malformation, diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism. In this study, we provide basic data about changes of NMR and IMR and the causes of neonatal and infantile death from 1983 to 2009 in Korea.     

Postnatal corticosteroids in the treatment of chronic lung disease in the preterm infant: past, present, and future

Over the past 20 years, corticosteroid use in the preterm infant has fallen in and out offavor. Steroids were introduced in the 1980s as a mode of preventing and treating chronic lung disease (CLD) in the preterm infant population. This use has been targeted toward low birth weight infants who are unable to wean off the ventilator. Dose, duration, and timing of treatment with dexamerhasone, the steroid typically used in NICUs, has varied. This article examines why the medication has fallen out of favor and whether postnatal corticosteroids still have a place in preventing and treating CLD.     

The early history of pediatrics in Mecklenburg. 2: The first specialized facilities for handicapped children, child and infant mortality, clinical facilities for pediatrics in Mecklenburg]

Particular attention is given to social and regional aspects in this report on the development of special care facilities for handicapped children, infant and child mortality in Mecklenburg, and an analysis of their causes. The restricted opportunities available for influencing the relevant conditions and for introducing prophylactic measures are described. The establishment and development of medical facilities for treating sick children in Mecklenburg are outlined, special emphasis being placed on the hospitals at Ludwigslust, the importance of Schwerin's Anna Hospital and their facilities for hospital, surgical and outpatient treatment of children.