Friday, December 14, 2018

OVERSIGHT: Exploring Alternatives to Fetal Tissue Research - Color Commentary

House Oversight had a hearing on alternatives to fetal tissue research.

At no point in the hearing was it raised that there is the possibility that intentional miscarriages and premature infant deaths are a much more cost efficient method to acquiring fetal tissue for research?

Actually, you can even do organ transfers and fetal tissue research with miscarriages and premature infant deaths for free.

State closes Canton Twp. cemetery after police raid

63 remains of fetuses removed from Perry Funeral Home in Detroit

Hospitals fetch market prices with placenta, too, considering the fact that Michigan has a Life Science Corridor specializing in pediatric research.

But, none of this was discussed in the hearing.

Abortion, in the medical profession, also includes miscarriage, but that did not stop Jim Himes from purporting that Planned Parenthood harvests aborted fetuses to sell.

Bless his heart and his staff all need to be released from federal employment.

Michigan hits highest premature birth rate in a decade

Michigan's preterm birth rate has increased slightly for the fifth consecutive year in 2017,  according to the March of Dimes, inching toward the state's highest percentage of babies born too soon in a decade.

Michigan maintained a “C” grade on the March of Dimes' annual Premature Birth Report Card, with an increase in the preterm birth rate from 10.1 percent in 2016 to 10.2 percent  in 2017. That's the highest rate since 2008, when 10. 5 percent of the babies born arrived too soon. 

The rate dipped to a low of 9.7 percent in 2013, but has climbed every year since.

Detroit had the nation's highest preterm birth rate among America's largest cities in 2016, with 14.5 percent of babies born too soon. The rate declined slightly to 14.3 percent in 2017, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. A national ranking ranking of cities' preterm birth rates is not yet available for 2017.

The March of Dimes' analysis is based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics.  Babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy risk serious complications or death. Preterm birth is the largest contributor to infant mortality in the United States and is the leading cause of death for children 5 and younger worldwide. 

Grades are assigned by comparing each state or city with the March of Dimes' goal of lowering rates to 8.1 percent by 2020. Detroit earned an F.

"The preterm birth rates in Michigan and Detroit have been relatively stable over the last several years," said Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. 

"The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has and continues to focus numerous resources to help prevent preterm births including increasing the number of pregnant women enrolled in home visiting and engaging in early prenatal care," Sutfin added. "In addition, the state is in the process of finalizing the Mother Infant Health and Equity Improvement Plan, which has a vision of zero preventable deaths and zero health disparities."   

The March of Dimes calculated rates for the report as the number of preterm births divided by the number of live births with known gestational age multiplied by 100.

The increases in Michigan are part of a national trend.  The overall preterm birth rate in the country increased for the third year in a row, from 9.85 percent in 2016 to 9.93 percent last year. 

The increases are tied to deepening health disparities across Michigan and nationwide, said Kara Hamilton-McGraw, director of maternal child health and government affairs for March of Dimes Michigan. Race and ethnicity, and factors such as income, education and marital status affect pregnancy outcomes.

In Michigan, the preterm birth rate among African-American women, at 13.9 percent, is 54 percent higher than the rate among all other women.

In Detroit, 41 percent of residents live at or below the federal poverty level, and nearly 50 percent of families with children spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing.  While data shows that a lack of spousal support is a risk factor for premature birth, 80 percent of babies in Detroit are born to unmarried mothers.  

"We’ve seen a large increase in racial and ethnic disparity as a driver of preterm childbirth rates across the United States and definitely in Michigan," Hamilton-McGraw said. 

"There’s a lot of discussion and a lot of thought and work being put behind social determinants of health, factors in the life span that can influence health outcomes that aren’t necessarily addressed in the health care model — for example, homelessness," she added. 

"If a woman does not have a home, her first priority may not be getting her prenatal care vitamins and getting to her monthly appointments," Hamilton-McGraw said.

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