Objective: External genital anomalies are common congenital anomalies, especially in male newborns. It seems that the incidence of these anomalies is increasing. Although the etiology of these anomalies is obscure in most cases, genetic and environmental factors have important roles. This study aimed to determine the types and frequency of these anomalies in newborn BABIES and to compare the results with those of a study which was conducted in the same hospital in 1991. Methods: In a descriptive analytic and cross-sectional study, all BABIES born March 2005 to February 2006 in Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, were recruited. Findings: 6800 newborns consisting of 3475 (51.1%) boys and 3325 (48.9%) girls were studied. No anomaly was found in girl newborns, but 6.6% of boys had external genital anomalies. Undescended testis and hypospadias were first and second common anomalies. In comparison with the previous study, the frequency of anomalies was higher in preterm and low birth weight BABIES, BABIES of related parents and older mothers. Conclusion: The frequency of external genital anomalies had an ascending trend in the last decade. Low birth weight, preterm delivery, high maternal age, and related parents are risk factors for these anomalies.

The incidence of perinatal morbidity is directly related to fetal macrosomia (birth weight ³4000g), but this morbidity is more common in macrosomic infants born diabetic mothers. Aim: To measure the antropometric parameters in two groups of full term macrosomic infants who were born from diabetic and non-diabetic pregnancies and to compare their morbidities. Method: Gestational assessment and antropometric measurements were done on 133 consecutive macrosomic infants, out of which 72 were born to non-diabetic mothers and 61 to diabetic mothers. The morbidity of the two groups were recorded and compared. Results: Although the macrosomic neonates born to diabetic pregnancies had the same lengths and head circumference when compared to fetal macrosomia of non-diabetic mothers, the formet group was significantly heavier with larger mid-shoulder and chest circumferences and greater shoulder to head and chest to head disproportion. Among macrosomic infants of diabetic pregnancies, Erb’s palsy occurred in 3, shoulder dystocia in 2 and one had fracture of clavicle, whereas only one Erb’s palsy was found among macrosomic BABIES of non-diabetic pregnancies.Conclusion: Although our data revealed higher morbidity in macrosomic infants of diabetic compared to non-diabetic pregnancies the number of patients in study groups were too few to draw any conclusions. This study suggests that if fetal macrosomia is suspected, suggests in a diabetic pregnancy, ultrasonic measurement of anthropometric parameters could be of value to select the route of delivery and to minimize birth trauma.

Introduction: One of the most common problems in newborns is apnea of prematurity. Given the importance of preventing apnea in very premature infants, the present study was designed and conducted to investigate the preventive effect of caffeine on reducing the frequency of apnea events in very premature infants. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial was conducted on premature infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit of Shahid Motahari Hospital in Urmia. Infants were randomly divided into two intervention and control groups. The intervention group received intravenous caffeine at an initial dose of 20 mg/kg and a maintenance dose of 5 mg/kg for 14 days. In contrast, the control group received an equal volume of normal saline intravenously for the same period. Apnea events, cyanosis attacks, and bradycardia were recorded by the researchers in a standard checklist. Results: Of the 50 infants in each group, 2% of the caffeine and 4% of the control group required prolonged oxygen therapy, respectively. Also, 6% of the caffeine group and 4% of the control group experienced intraventricular hemorrhage. In addition, 4% of the caffeine group and 2% of the control group required surgery to close the patent ductus arteriosus, and 14% of the caffeine group and 18% of the control group experienced apneic events. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the incidence of apneic events (P = 0. 58). Ultimately, 20% of the caffeine group and 14% of the control group died. Conclusions: Although the findings of the present study were not statistically significant, they indicate a decrease in the frequency of apnea events in the group of premature infants receiving caffeine compared to the control group.

Context: Neonatal mortality rate is declining globally. The aim of the present study is to identify relevant indicators for assessing newborn care in hospitals by a systematic review.Evidence Acquisition: A search on electronic data base and manual searches of personal files for studies on quality indicators of newborn care were carried out. Searching 9 bibliographic databases, we found 85 articles of which 22 exactly related ones were selected and studied. Hand search yielded 1 record were also searched and 2 records were included.Results: A list of 87 structure, process and outcome indicators was formulated from the articles. Also 26 excess measures were identified in gray literature. After removing duplicates, and categorizing in 3 domains, 18 measures were input, 41 process and 34 outcome measures.Conclusions: These 93 indicators provide a framework for assessing how well the hospitals are providing neonatal care. These measures should be discussed in each context expert panels to address nationally applicable indices of neonatal care and may be adapted for local health settings.