Alternative Birth Plans and Unintended Maternal and Neonatal Consequences: A Review of the Literature.

Importance: Birth plans are an important part of childbirth preparation for many women.

Objective: The aim of this review was to discuss some common requests, specifically home birth, water birth, placentophagy, lotus birth, vaccination refusal, and vaginal seeding, including evidence-based recommendations, perceived benefits, and potential maternal and neonatal consequences.

Evidence Acquisition: A literature search for each topic was undertaken using PubMed and Web of Science.

Telemedicine: Pediatric Applications.

Telemedicine is a technological tool that is improving the health of children around the world. This report chronicles the use of telemedicine by pediatricians and pediatric medical and surgical specialists to deliver inpatient and outpatient care, educate physicians and patients, and conduct medical research. It also describes the importance of telemedicine in responding to emergencies and disasters and providing access to pediatric care to remote and underserved populations.

Smooth implementation of critical congenital heart defect screening in a newborn nursery.

In January of 2012, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences began implementation of a critical congenital heart disease screening program to identify newborns with structural heart defects. The screening used motion tolerant pulse oximeters in direct sequence to measure the oxygen levels in the right hand and either foot of eligible newborns. Exclusion criteria included echocardiogram prior to discharge, age greater than 7 days with continuous neonatal intensive care unit monitoring, or death or transfer prior to discharge.

Through with the flu: how free family and caregiver immunization protects sick neonates.

Newborns represent the pediatric population most at risk for influenza-related morbidity and mortality, especially premature newborns and those with chronic disease. Compounding this problem is the fact that influenza immunizations are ineffective until 6 months of age. This article describes a successful program that follows the "cocoon" theory of immunization.

Peds PLACE: quality continuing medical education in Arkansas.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) sponsor Peds PLACE (Pediatric Physician Learning and Collaborative Education), a telemedicine continuing education program. This study assessed to what extent participants were satisfied with Peds PLACE and how to improve it. It was found that 95% of the participants agreed that the presentations related to their professional needs and 98% that it increased their knowledge.

Achieving success connecting academic and practicing clinicians through telemedicine.

Objective: Practicing clinicians, especially in rural areas, are often isolated from learning opportunities and interactions with subspecialty providers. Pediatric Physician Learning and Collaborative Education, an interactive, educational, telemedicine program, was developed to address this need. We evaluated the success of this program through surveys with practicing and academic physicians.

Trends in hospitalizations for neonatal jaundice and kernicterus in the United States, 1988-2005.

Context And Objective: Recent reports have raised global concerns about a reemergence of kernicterus. Accurate information on the incidence of kernicterus is unavailable because of the rarity of the condition and the lack of a systematic surveillance strategy. We used nationally representative hospital discharge data to evaluate trends in the diagnosis and management of neonatal jaundice and the incidence of kernicterus in relation to the American Academy of Pediatrics hyperbilirubinemia clinical practice guideline.