Cord Blood Developments

The odds of needing one's own cord blood are likely to rise in the future as new discoveries are made for the treatment of certain diseases with cord blood.

A recent study demonstrates how moms and dads may be closer to using their baby’s stored cord blood as a standard treatment in blood cancers and other diseases.

There are a number of ways that your doctor or midwife may not be able to get a large volume of cord blood. Let's looks at the factors that have been shown to negatively and positively affect the volume of cord blood collected.

Cord blood banking is as much for the baby as it is for existing and future additions to the family. This is because there is not only an opportunity for the baby to use his or her own cord blood but also an increased chance it can be used by a brother, sister or other immediate family member as well.

Some parents may worry that having a C-section will inhibit their ability to collect cord blood. To be clear: Collecting cord blood following a Caesarean birth is essentially the same as collecting cord blood during a vaginal delivery. In fact, some aspects with collecting cord blood following a C-Section may surprise you.

The goal of cord blood banking is to capture as many stem cells as possible, but how do you know if your baby's cord blood collection is a good one? Determining the exact number of stem cells in any cord blood collection is not precise, but there are ways to determine if your cord blood collection will be effective in a transplantation.

As the 40th week draws near and the aches and pains become nearly too much to bear, many moms look for ways to help induce or bring about delivery. In a study of 201 women who delivered at a Midwestern hospital, half tried to induce labor naturally. If the time is right, and mommy wants the baby out, what can they do to help naturally induce and move along the birthing process? Let’s take a look.

It's been a short six months since the FDA granted Duke University Medical Center additional access in the treatment of brain injuries like autism and cerebral palsy using stored cord blood, but since then, we have been inundated with requests from moms and dads looking for more information on how to get his or her own son or daughter in the clinical trial. We've also heard stories of young parents traveling half way around the globe for their family's chance to take part in the clinical trial.

Caesar Sant is something of a childhood prodigy. He started playing the violin at two years old, and amazed his instructors with his prowess on the stringed instrument. At four, he could do third-grade math and speak six languages. By five, however, the sickle cell disease, which he had been diagnosed with at birth, was taking its toll. Caesar suffered three strokes, and the last had left him unable to play the violin or even walk.

Most researchers and moms would agree that there is no cure-all for stretch marks, but there is some clinical evidence available that shows the signs of stretch marks can be reduced. Let’s take a look at stretch marks, what causes them and how we could possibly minimize their effects.