Health breakthroughs are helping women and newborns – keep reading to find out how!
Health is important for people of all ages and in all situations, but delivering quality care to women and babies is especially important as there are so many things that can go wrong. Tech has always helped with pregnancy, childbirth, and the health of women and babies, and we have so many more tools than we had ten years ago. We’re lucky to live in a time when women don’t routinely die from childbirth and premature babies can often be saved. However, researchers are always looking for ways to improve, and there are exciting developments on the horizon.
New breakthroughs and advancements are now being made in many different areas related to pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy. New testing and monitoring methods, improved fertility treatments, and other modern health advances make it safer and easier than ever to have children. Here are just some of the ways new research is helping women and their babies.
Developments in Women’s Health
The quicker problems can be detected during pregnancy and labor, the better the outcome for a woman. New technology is making pregnancy easier and safer. There are advances in monitoring the baby’s development while in the wombs, and more research that allows the detection of genetic disorders. Technology and new health initiatives are greatly improving women’s health, and making delivery better.
Technological breakthroughs are happening all over, and we now have the ability to test and diagnose fetus abnormalities early in a pregnancy. New blood tests are emerging that could replace the current genetic testing method of amniocentesis—taking sample cells from the placenta. This new process of blood testing is safer, and is does not cause miscarriages. Women are more likely to do tests to check and help diagnose their baby’s health. Blood testing, is safer and helps to detect genetic disorders very early in pregnancy.
Imaging, which has played a key role in pregnancy monitoring since the development of ultrasound technology, is now able to provide even more detailed information for expectant mothers. Older women, too, are benefitting from these advances: new digital mammography provides instant results and cuts down on radiation exposure by 25%. Advancements in radiation technology and imaging are improving how we diagnose health conditions, and are giving us more awareness in how the body operates and heals.
Better Resources and Education for Women
Women are starting to wait longer and longer to start families. In 2013, women were having their first child at an average age of 26, an all-time high. That’s due in part to new family structures and cultural trends. With more women staying in the workforce longer, there is a need to create better resources and education on topics like freezing eggs and fertility treatments. Never in history have women had so many options for their own fertility and family planning. However, many women are unaware of what those options are.
Although freezing eggs is currently expensive and requires hormone treatments in order to help the eggs mature, new technology could allow eggs to be matured in the lab, increasing the number that can be harvested and eliminating the need for hormone treatments. Genetic “editing” is also being developed to help offset the risks of older women having children. More women are becoming aware of options like egg freezing and in vitro fertilization, but these new options could one day make egg freezing and delayed motherhood even more common.
Improvements in Newborn Care
We don’t lose babies nearly as often as we once did, but many premature and sick babies are still born every year, requiring special care to survive. The technology in newborn care is always improving, and one of the latest developments in this area is an FDA-approved monitoring system that can observe babies’ respiration at a very delicate time in their lives. Even the smallest change in an infant’s vital signs can signal a problem, so having monitoring devices like these saves babies’ lives.
Continuing Need for Quality Patient Care
Tech may be making the biggest splash in healthcare for women and newborns, but it does not replace the human element of care. Practitioners still need to ensure that they are developing their communication skills and cultivate empathy.
Women and newborns need kindness, sympathy, and quality care as they go through these important stages of life. Practitioners need to be especially observant and compassionate when diagnosing and treating newborns, as these patients are not able to tell their doctors and nurses what they are feeling.
More than machines, people need to know that someone is dedicated to helping them get through all their health challenges. Having the sensitivity to work with patients during turbulent times and using the latest technology to assist in care is ultimately what saves mothers and babies and sets them up for a brighter future.
