Fourth Minnesota Sextuplet Dies

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Just 2 weeks after making her entrance into the world, 18 weeks early, Cadence Morrison has passed away.

Four of the six Morrison babies born June 10 in Minneapolis have died, according to a statement released today by Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

Cadence Morrison died Saturday. Three of her brothers, Tryg, Bennet and Lincoln, died within one week of their birth. The remaining two children – one boy and one girl – remain in critical condition at Children’s in Minneapolis.

“Though our difficult time continues, our faith remains strong,” said parents Ryan and Brianna Morrison in the statement. “Our families, friends, and churches have provided us with great comfort, for which we are deeply grateful.”

The sextuplets were born at 22 weeks, which is considered an extreme limit of viability. Their birthweights ranged from 11 ounces to 1.3 pounds. Health officials believe the Morrison babies were the first sextuplets to all survive birth in Minnesota.

There are roughly a dozen sets of sextuplets to survive infancy in U.S. history. The Masche sextuplets, who were born in Arizona within 12 hours of the Morrison children, remain stable.

Brianna Morrison, 24, had taken fertility drugs for the pregnancy. The Morrisons decided against selective reduction, a procedure that would have eliminated some of the fetuses in the womb but improved the odds of survival for the remaining ones.

The Morrison’s struggle has gained worldwide attention. Nearly 200,000 people have visited their web site.

“I just wanted to say that I am praying with all my heart,” said one writer on the site. “I check this site regularly 2 or more times a day praying to see that things are improving. I can’t imagine what you both are going through”

I am praying that this family will get to take these remaining twins home. After everything that they have been through it would be heartbreaking for them to not have a baby to take home in the end.

This poor girl was on bedrest for weeks trying to stay calm so that the babies could grow. Her and her husband moved into the hospital, to improve the babies chances of survival.

I cannot imagine how they are feeling right now…Our thoughts are with them.

Related Articles:

• Another Set Of Sextuplets On The Way
• Third Sextuplet No Longer With Us
• Second Morrison Sextuplet Dies
• Update: St. Louis Park Mom Delivers Sextuplets
• Pregnant With Triplets…Would You Chose A Reduction?

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Tina Fey and Alice On The Set Of Baby Mama

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Tina Fey and daughter Alice, 1 were seen on the set of Fey’s new movie ‘BABY MAMA’ . Out in theatres next year Tina plays a single businesswoman who hires a surrogate mother (Amy Poehler) to carry her baby.

PHOTOCREDIT:WIREIMAGE.COM

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Introducing Sam Alexis Woods!!

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Tiger Woods posted pictures of his new bundle this morning on his website. Little Sam is seen sleeping comfortably in daddy’s arms while Elin gives her some love.Many people say that Tiger is a different person socially than what you see on T.V. during tournaments. You can see here that Sam has already softened him and captured his heart.

Related Articles:

Tiger Woods And Wife Elin Welcome Baby Girl

Elin Woods Looking Great In Florida

Elin Woods and Emma Stenson At TPC Sawgrass

PHOTOCREDIT:GRETCHEN DOW MASHKURI via TIGERWOODS.COM

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‘Tetris’ Fashioned Bookshelf

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When I saw this book shelf all I could think of was my favourite video game…tetris!

It fits together just like the exact pieces in the game.

With wooden sides and a metal backing, the Tetrad Flat is a modular lightweight unit. Blocks can be attached to one another, to the wall or left free floating for life-sized, living room game play. Choose from a variety of exterior and backing colors.

I like that this shelf will accomodate books of all shapes and sizes. No two books are made the same anymore, which tends to be a pain when you are trying to figure out the height of your shelf. There is a place for EVERY book on this shelf and then some…

Shelf Depth: 9″
Each set includes 1 each of 5 shapes

Available at Moderntots.com for $750

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Take Your Omega 3’s While Pregnant and Raise Your Child’s IQ

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Children whose mothers get enough omega-3 fatty acid during pregnancy may have sharper problem-solving skills in infancy, a small study suggests.

Researchers found that 9-month-olds whose mothers had eaten DHA-fortified bars during pregnancy performed better on a test of problem-solving abilities than infants whose mothers had not added DHA to their diets.

DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, is one of the major omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish like salmon, sardines and tuna. Because of the fat’s vital role in brain development, experts recommend that pregnant women get 300 milligrams (mg) of DHA each day.

However, research shows that few U.S. women meet this goal.

The new findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that women who do get adequate DHA may aid their infants’ cognitive abilities.

The study included 29 women in their 24th week of pregnancy. Half were randomly assigned to eat a cereal bar supplemented with 300 mg of DHA from fish oil, while the rest were given a bar with added corn oil to serve as a comparison. On average, the women ate five bars per week.

Their babies underwent standard tests of infant problem-solving and memory at the age of 9 months. The problem-solving task tested the infants’ ability to retrieve a toy that was covered by a cloth.

In general, the researchers found, babies in the DHA group performed better on the test than those in the comparison group. There was no difference between the two groups on the memory test.

Omega 3’s are normally found in fish and flax seeds. It is not recommended to eat much fish while pregnant due to the mercury content so you can take the oil instead.

Udo’s choice makes a nice omega 3-6-9 oil that you can take in liquid or pill format. It is reasonable priced and not that bad tasting. It is stored in the refrigerator section of mist health food stores.

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Obstetricians Warn That Unassisted Home Births Are NOT Safe

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Canadian obstetricians are worried about a growing trend of parents who are opting to have unassisted homebirths or ‘freebirths’.

Proponents argue a freebirth is more relaxed and pleasurable, and a mother’s own intuition trumps hospitals, drugs and medical experts. Opponents argue it is dangerous.

Information about how to give birth alone has proliferated in books like Primal Mothering in a Modern World and online on websites like Bornfree!, maintained by Colorado-based Laura Shanley, a five-time freebirther. “If you want to do something right, do it yourself!” declares the site.

In the U.S., where freebirth is believed to be the most common of any developed nation, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has handed out bumper stickers bearing the message “Home delivery is for pizza” and released a position paper opposed to home births.

Dr. Guylaine Lefebvre, incoming president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, believes freebirthers are a small but vocal group.

She has never heard of a mother or child injured in unassisted childbirth. Still, she is concerned about the safety of both freebirthing mothers and their babies.

“The concept that you would choose to deliver unassisted goes against everything we have worked so hard for in this country,” she said Thursday during a break at a conference of the society, which has attracted more than 1,000 specialists in women’s health to Ottawa this week.

On recent trip to Uganda, Lefebvre learned that 550 out of every 100,000 women die giving birth, and less than a third have a skilled attendant to assist. In Canada only six in 100,000 women die giving birth.

“Our great-grandmothers gave birth at home. And many of them died. And their babies died,” she said. “In obstetrics, dramatic emergencies can happen very quickly to women who have no warning signs.”

Unassisted birth isn’t illegal, but the question of whether a baby injured during a botched freebirth might sue his own mother has been raised.

Dr. Don Davis, the outgoing president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, said the society has no difficulties with women who want to give birth at home with the help of a midwife, as long as emergency back-up is available and the mother knows the risks.

Around the world, about 500,000 women a year die in childbirth, said Davis.

“That’s a reflection that freebirth may not be the best way to go,” he said.

 

This is the craziest thing I have ever heard. As a mom, your job is to do everything in your power to keep your newborn safe. This is not about you…it’s about your baby having every option available in case something goes awry.

You have no way of knowing if the umbilical cord is around the baby’s neck or if they are sitting in there breech. What do you do if you start to hemorrhage?

I have no issues with home births supervised by a experienced midwife or a mom delivering in the hospital and then going home 2 or 3 hours later. The important thing is that the baby is properly checked over by a medical professional for any problems.

During our stay in the NICU we saw MANY full-term babies that were admitted moments after birth due to unusual complications. Every pregnancy is different. Just because you have had smooth deliveries with you last 3 kids doesn’t mean that this next one is going to follow suit.

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NICU In London Closed Due To Outbreak

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Another NICU has been closed due to an outbreak of respiratory illnesses among several high-risk babies at London’s only neonatal intensive-care unit.

Seven of the 35 infants in the NICU at St. Joseph’s hospital tested positive for parainfluenza type 3 or respiratory syncytial virus this week, and the unit has responded by shutting its doors to new patients.

“When an outbreak occurs . . . you don’t bring in new, premature babies. They’re like sitting ducks,” Dr. Michael John, medical director of infection prevention and control with London’s hospitals, said yesterday.

“These little babies are the ones that are most likely to do badly if they get infections, and particularly lung infections.”

Indications of an outbreak surfaced last Monday, when two infants recently released from the NICU started requiring more oxygen than before, which is a sign of a respiratory illness, John said.

Both babies were screened — plus two others they’d shared an NICU room with — and results showed all four babies had viral respiratory illnesses.

Three of those babies tested positive for parainfluenza type 3, while the fourth infant showed positive for both parainfluenza type 3 and RSV, John said.

“After that, we decided to test all the babies.”

Three more babies tested positive for RSV or parainfluenza type 3 or both, he said.

None of the babies are critically ill, he said.

Both infections are common in young children — John said 95 per cent of two-year-olds have already suffered from parainfluenza * — and usually, they don’t cause more harm than a few sniffles or croup.

But in high-risk babies, such as the premature or unwell babies housed in the NICU, the viral respiratory illnesses can cause severe problems, he said.

“These (illnesses) might be relatively trivial infections in others, but these little premature babies are at risk for serious complications” such as pneumonia and difficulty breathing, he said.

All of the unit’s 35 babies have been given an antibody designed to fight RSV, and special precautions are being undertaken to ensure there is no further spread.

There is no antibody to ward off parainfluenza, John said.

Doctors decided yesterday to close off the unit to new babies for a period of 24 hours, until the situation can be reassessed, he said.

For now, the NICU is closed to any new preemies, and high-risk mothers who will be delivering may have to do so at other area hospitals if the unit remains closed, he said.

“We can’t afford to have new, very premature babies coming in,” John said.

Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa all have NICU units for high-risk babies.

John added it’s unclear whether any of the babies in St. Joseph’s NICU are actually suffering from RSV because the first screening tests administered to the babies have been known to show false positives for the illness.

It’s also rare for RSV to present itself outside of the winter months, he said.

All of the babies have been tested again to determine whether RSV is present, and the hospital hopes to have the results of those tests by 5 p.m. today.

Doctors will decide at that point whether to maintain the unit closure or re-open to new babies, he said.

Anyone whose baby has been discharged from the NICU within the last week and shows symptoms such as rapid breathing, cough or a fever is asked to go to Children’s Emergency for medical care.

The good news is that all the babies are alive. Women’s College NICU was closed in March and Mount Sinai Hospital in May due infection outbreaks.

It doesn’t take much for infection to spread in the intensive care units. All it takes is just one or two parents to come in, not wash their hands properly and then pass their illness to everyone else.

You are supposed to wash your hands for 2 minutes before heading to the bedside, but no one ever does…Maybe there should be a small timer by each wash sink so that everyone knows exactly how long 2 minutes is?

Related Articles:

Mt. Sinai Neo-Natal Unit Closed
Study Suggests That Closing Smaller NICUs Could Save More Preemie’s Lives
Women’s College Hospital – NICU Closed

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