Deep far infrared ISOPHOT survey in "Selected Area 57", I. Observations and source counts

We present here the results of a deep survey in a 0.4 sq.deg. blank field in Selected Area 57 conducted with the ISOPHOT instrument aboard ESAs Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) at both 60 um and 90 um. The resulting sky maps have a spatial resolution of 15 x 23 sq.arcsec. per pixel which is much higher than the 90 x 90 sq.arcsec. pixels of the IRAS All Sky Survey. We describe the main instrumental effects encountered in our data, outline our data reduction and analysis scheme and present astrometry and photometry of the detected point sources. With a formal signal to noise ratio of 6.75 we have source detection limits of 90 mJy at 60 um and 50 mJy at 90 um. To these limits we find cumulated number densities of 5+-3.5 per sq.deg. at 60 um and 14.8+-5.0 per sq.deg.at 90 um. These number densities of sources are found to be lower than previously reported results from ISO but the data do not allow us to discriminate between no-evolution scenarios and various evolutionary models.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic

Fathers in neonatal units: improving infant health by supporting the baby-father bond and mother-father co-parenting.

The Family Initiative’s International Neonatal Fathers Working Group, whose members are the authors of this paper, has reviewed the literature on engaging fathers in neonatal units, with the aim of making recommendations for improving experience of fathers as well as health outcomes in neonatal practice. We believe that supporting the fatherbaby bond and supporting co-parenting between the mother and the father benefits the health of the baby, for example, improved weight gain and oxygen saturation and enhanced rates of breastfeeding. We find, however, that despite much interest in engaging with parents as full partners in the care of their baby, engaging fathers remains suboptimal. Fathers typically describe the opportunity to bond with their babies, particularly skin-to-skin care, in glowing terms of gratitude, happiness and love. These sensations are underpinned by hormonal and neurobiological changes that take place in fathers when they care for their babies, as also happens with mothers. Fathers, however, are subject to different social expectations from mothers and this shapes how they respond to the situation and how neonatal staff treats them. Fathers are more likely to be considered responsible for earning, they are often considered to be less competent at caring than mothers and they are expected to be “the strong one”, providing support to mothers but not expecting it in return. Our review ends with 12 practical recommendations for neonatal teams to focus on: (1) assess the needs of mother and father individually, (2) consider individual needs and wants in family care plans, (3) ensure complete flexibility of access to the neonatal unit for fathers, (4) gear parenting education towards co-parenting, (5) actively promote father-baby bonding, (6) be attentive to fathers hiding their stress, (7) inform fathers directly not just via the mother, (8) facilitate peer-to-peer communication for fathers, (9) differentiate and analyse by gender in service evaluations, (10) train staff to work with fathers and to support co-parenting, (11) develop a father-friendly audit tool for neonatal units, and (12) organise an international consultation to update guidelines for neonatal care, including those of UNICEF

Evidence-based guidelines for the management of abnormally invasive placenta: recommendations from the International Society for Abnormally Invasive Placenta

The worldwide incidence of abnormally invasive placenta is rapidly rising, following the trend of increasing cesarean delivery. It is a heterogeneous condition and has a high maternal morbidity and mortality rate, presenting specific intrapartum challenges. Its rarity makes developing individual expertise difficult for the majority of clinicians. The International Society for Abnormally Invasive Placenta aims to improve clinicians’ understanding and skills in managing this difficult condition. By pooling knowledge, experience, and expertise gained within a variety of different healthcare systems, the Society seeks to improve the outcomes for women with abnormally invasive placenta globally. The recommendations presented herewith were reached using a modified Delphi technique and are based on the best available evidence. The evidence base for each is presented using a formal grading system. The topics chosen address the most pertinent questions regarding intrapartum management of abnormally invasive placenta with respect to clinically relevant outcomes, including the following: definition of a center of excellence; requirement for antenatal hospitalization; antenatal optimization of hemoglobin; gestational age for delivery; antenatal corticosteroid administration; use of preoperative cystoscopy, ureteric stents, and prophylactic pelvic arterial balloon catheters; maternal position for surgery; type of skin incision; position of the uterine incision; use of interoperative ultrasound; prophylactic administration of oxytocin; optimal method for intraoperative diagnosis; use of expectant management; adjuvant therapies for expectant management; use of local surgical resection; type of hysterectomy; use of delayed hysterectomy; intraoperative measures to treat life-threatening hemorrhage; and fertility after conservative management