Latest news with #newborns
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
NEWS OF THE WEEK: Jesy Nelson gives birth to twins after troubled pregnancy
The former Little Mix member, 33, revealed the happy news in an Instagram post on Sunday. She told fans she and boyfriend Zion Foster had welcomed her twin daughters, Ocean and Story, on 15 May. "So... Our beautiful baby girls decided to come at 31 weeks plus 5 days," the couple wrote in a joint post. "It all happened so quickly, but we are so blessed that they are here with us, healthy and fighting strong! We've never felt more in love. Everybody, meet Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster. Born on 15.05.2025."
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NEWS OF THE WEEK: Jesy Nelson gives birth to twins after troubled pregnancy
The former Little Mix member, 33, revealed the happy news in an Instagram post on Sunday. She told fans she and boyfriend Zion Foster had welcomed her twin daughters, Ocean and Story, on 15 May. "So... Our beautiful baby girls decided to come at 31 weeks plus 5 days," the couple wrote in a joint post. "It all happened so quickly, but we are so blessed that they are here with us, healthy and fighting strong! We've never felt more in love. Everybody, meet Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster. Born on 15.05.2025."
Mail & Guardian
19-05-2025
- Health
- Mail & Guardian
Why so many newborns and foetuses are abandoned in landfills and the veld
Why are so many newborns and foetuses being abandoned in landfills and velds in SA? We asked leading forensic pathologist Shakeera Holland what her team found. (Nicole Ludolph) They were wrapped in plastic or foil or a piece of clothing, tucked inside a backpack or pulled from a burnt pile of rubbish. Those were some of the ways the remains of newborns and foetuses were found before being taken to the Diepkloof Forensic Pathology Service in Soweto. Although discoveries like these rarely To help figure out why, researchers from Wits University Studies show this is extremely rare in countries like Of the 158 cases in the Diepkloof facility studied, 68 were found to be non-viable, which means they would not be able to survive outside of the mother; 29 were The researchers — Rachel Gill, Roxanne Thornton and Shakeera Holland — believe the high number of non-viable cases could be linked to SAMJ study. Their initial findings point to a lack of information and education about abortion and inadequate medical care, which In a recent episode of Bhekisisa 's monthly TV programme, Mia Malan spoke to her at Soweto's forensic pathology service facilities in Diepkloof. This interview was edited for clarity. Mia Malan: How many abandoned foetuses and newborns are found? Shakeera Holland: We don't have accurate statistics about this because there is no digital database of unnatural deaths in the whole of South Africa. What we do know is that we have about 70 000 unnatural deaths in South Africa, and of those, we estimate that approximately 2% are abandoned neonates [newborns in the first few weeks of life] and foetuses. MM: In the study you supervised at the mortuary, where were the remains of these abandoned foetuses and newborns found? SH: The majority of the time, the remains are left where it is convenient, and probably where people think they won't be found easily. So usually in open veld, landfills and dumping areas. It's less common to find them in toilets in shopping centres and other public toilets. MM: Is there a difference in the number of female remains versus male remains? SH: Most of the foetuses in our study were male. And most of our paediatric deaths happen to be more commonly in boys than girls — and this is what we see in MM: What do your autopsies show? What are the causes of death? SH: The most common cause that we see are non-viable foetuses. This means that the foetuses haven't completed sufficient time in the pregnancy for them to survive outside of the mother. We also see a lot of stillbirths. These are babies that have completed enough gestational time in the mother to be considered viable, but they're not born deceased. In a minority of the causes we see trauma, and that can either be accidental or homicidal — but this is in very few cases. MM: What are the most common causes of the trauma? SH: A lot of the common causes are head injuries, and a few are related to suffocation, and we've maybe had one or two where there's sharp force injury. For example, the foetuses or neonates have had their necks cut. MM: Why did you do the study? SH: We see these cases of abandoned neonates and foetuses every day. You see newspaper reports about these cases, but they make it seem as if they never happen. In fact, they are happening every single day. I had a student that was particularly passionate about the topic and wanted to look at what is exactly going on in this area, and hopefully spark research in other places, because we don't know much about it. MM: So when a foetus or neonate lands here, what happens to it? SH: They undergo a medical and legal post-mortem examination, which includes an autopsy. That autopsy includes any investigations that are necessary to determine the cause and circumstances of death. Once that is completed, we compile a post-mortem report. That report then goes to the South African Police Service for further investigation, for them to decide whether or not there needs to be prosecution in this case and what happens to the remains. In foetuses that are less than 26 weeks the remains are discarded as medical waste. Neonates of 26 weeks and older are buried as paupers if nobody claims the remains, which means the state assumes the cost of the burial. MM: Do you have enough doctors to conduct these autopsies? SH: At present, our doctors are doing between 500 to 600 post-mortems per doctor per year. The ideal amount would be about 250 because we need to take into consideration that the process is not just doing autopsies. In fact, the doctor has to do the autopsy then compile a meticulous report that needs to stand up in court. MM: We have more than 1 000 unemployed doctors in this country. Why can't you use them? SH: We do not have enough funded posts for doctors, even though we do have a lot of doctors who would like to come and work in our service. MM: Have you got a specific policy intervention you'd like to see? SH: That's exactly why we do these studies. We're hoping that if we are able to shine a light on where the problems lie, we are able to give a basis for policy development to show where intervention is necessary. I think it's very sad that the This story is based on the , 'Why are thousands of babies dumped each year in SA instead of being safely aborted?,' which was broadcast on 29 March on eNCA. View the full programme on Bhekisisa's If you are seeking information about abortion services, has a list of providers in South Africa, which is regularly updated. This story was produced by the . Sign up for the .
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Jesy Nelson gives birth to twins after troubled pregnancy
The former Little Mix member, 33, revealed the happy news in an Instagram post on Sunday. She told fans she and boyfriend Zion Foster had welcomed her twin daughters, Ocean and Story, on 15 May. "So... Our beautiful baby girls decided to come at 31 weeks plus 5 days," the couple wrote in a joint post. "It all happened so quickly, but we are so blessed that they are here with us, healthy and fighting strong! We've never felt more in love. Everybody, meet Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster. Born on 15.05.2025."
Sky News
14-05-2025
- Health
- Sky News
'I felt I couldn't keep my baby safe': Warning of heat impact on pregnant women and newborns
Experts are warning about the dangerous impacts of heatwaves on pregnant women and newborn babies in the UK, as new research finds they are sweltering through twice as many dangerously hot days. Between 2020 and 2024, an average of 26 days a year saw temperatures soar so high in the UK they posed a health risk to pregnant women, scientists at Climate Central found. Half of these days were added by global warming, which is making hot weather even hotter. The impact of heat on pregnancy is an understudied but rapidly growing field of research. Studies in some parts of the world have already identified a higher risk of stillbirths, or babies being born underweight, prematurely or with defects. In mothers, heat exposure has also been linked with hypertension, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, breastfeeding problems and poor mental health - though experts say more research is needed. Dr Chloe Brimicombe from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said: "For the UK, we know a rise in temperatures can cause a rise in the risk of preterm births. "We should be quite concerned, as climate change is having an effect from before birth right the way through our lives, and this risk is only increasing." 'I felt I couldn't keep my baby safe' Newborns are particularly vulnerable to heat because their small bodies heat up more quickly, and they cannot cool themselves down or communicate what they need. Mother Amy Woolfson said temperatures in her postnatal ward hit a "disturbing" 26C by 4.30am after she had given birth to her daughter in September 2023. By 10am, it was 30C. "She was so tiny, and I didn't feel like I could keep her safe," she told Sky News. "I felt completely frantic." She could not find anywhere to keep cool, and so in the end asked to be discharged early. "I wasn't ready," she said, but it "got to the point where I just wanted to go home". She said the intense heat "brought home" the reality of climate change. "In the very first few days of her life, climate change is happening and is making her unsafe - and it really brought that home for me in a way that nothing ever had previously." Warnings about UK hospitals Ms Woolfson blames poor protocol and missing heat measures - and last month the country's climate advisers warned many hospitals "already struggle to operate effectively" in heatwaves. In 2022, record 40C temperatures led to cancelled operations, staff and bed shortages and overheating in surgical theatres. Today's study adds further evidence to growing concerns that Britain's ageing hospital buildings - sometimes with a lack of fans and windows that barely open - struggle to cope in the heat. Climate Central's research counted the number of days hot enough to pose a risk to pregnant women, and compared them with those in a simulated environment, without global warming. 1:26 Pregnancy heat risk days were classed as those warmer than 95% of all temperatures recorded in that location. In the UK, the greatest abnormal exposure was in the east of England, but globally hotter and poorer countries are more vulnerable. In underdeveloped Tuvalu in the South Pacific, climate change added all 52 of the pregnancy heat risk days. Dr Kristina Dahl from Climate Central said climate change is "stacking the odds against healthy pregnancies worldwide, especially in places where care is already hard to access". She added: "These impacts on maternal and infant health are likely to worsen if we don't stop burning fossil fuels and urgently tackle climate change." The study has not been published in a journal but uses peer-reviewed methods, and two independent professionals told Sky News the findings may be conservative. Experts have called on the government to invest in hospitals, and improve heat-health plans and early warning systems. A spokesperson for the government's Department of Health and Social Care said: "We inherited a crumbling hospital estate that is not fit for purpose, including old buildings that are unable to cope with extreme temperature changes. "We have set aside over £1bn to start tackling the backlog of critical maintenance, repairs and upgrades that are needed to improve things for staff and patients. "And we have put the New Hospital Programme on a secure footing, ensuring we can deliver the hospital rebuilds needed to make our NHS fit for the future through our Plan for Change."
