Director, Emergency Services, Bikur Cholim Hospital
With today's technology, operations and even blood
transfusions can be given even before birth. Birth is not
without dangers but I will not go into them at this time.
Let us go over just one issue in late pregnancy.
Trauma in pregnancy is common: women have a different center
of gravity than usual and they are prone to falls. Auto
accidents are more complicated because the seat belt does not
sit comfortably.
The two worries we have are abruptio and Rh sensitization.
Abruptio is when the placenta — the shared tissue of
the mother and the baby — separates from the wall of
the womb. That hurts, but surprisingly there may be little
bleeding if all of the tear is contained by the sides of the
placenta. There is, however, danger to both mother and child,
and this condition is best picked up by monitoring, that is,
wearing a large belt that records the contractions of the
womb, that is often done in the later stages of pregnancy.
Any bleeding at all may mix maternal blood with baby's blood.
This could be a problem because the baby may have the
father's blood group (called Rh) and if the mother does not,
it could stimulate her body to make antibodies which could
kill the baby's red cells. The best bet is to know blood
groups in advance and give mother blocking medications to
prevent this if there is any bleeding at all.
Mazel Tov! A new neshomoh with amazing abilities. The
healing potential of young children is truly amazing. Places
that scar or take months to heal in adults heal nicely in
kids with little effort. Bones bend instead of breaking.
I had one kid who climbed over a railing and fell three
meters. He was able to get up and walk away with no ill
effects. Kids rarely get cancers, rarely get heart attacks,
rarely get strokes. They are still growing and can regenerate
in amazing ways. Often amputations in kids will retake where
in adults it is a lost cause.
However, we get older. By the teen years, growth starts to
cease. Bones get harder. Calcium status in bones and fat
status get established for life. The thymus gland and the
tonsils, which played a role in disease-fighting, start to
shrink.
By age thirty, cholesterol problems and high blood pressure
can start developing. Considering that most cancers take
twenty years to develop, this must also occur during this
period. Death can occur — in men from accidents, in
women from breast cancer.
Middle age approaches. Stay tuned for next week's discussion.
Write me in care of the Yated.
