On October 2, the American Academy of Pediatrics will be presenting this year’s Virginia Apgar Award to St. Louis neonatologist William Keenan at their National Conference & Exhibition in San Fransisco, California.  The award is given to an individual who has dedicated their career to the wellbeing of infants.

Keenan is a professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University and a neonatologist at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center.  He was a pioneer in the field of neonatal resuscitation used on babies suffering from asphyxia.  The curriculum was adopted by the AAP and the American Heart Association to train doctors and nurses in the life-saving technique.  Neonatal resuscitation is used in approximately one out of ten births in the United States for babies who are deprived of oxygen before, after or during delivery.  Since the technique was adopted in 1987 the infant morality rate in the U.S. has dropped by nearly 70 percent.

If your child suffered from asphyxia at birth due to medical negligence, contact the Philadelphia asphyxia lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. at 215-238-1130 to learn more about your rights.

Johnson & Johnson recently announced the launch of a campaign called “Every Mother, Every Child”.  ”Every Mother, Every Child” is a five year program that will help an estimated 400 million women and children in over 50 countries.

The program has four distinct parts.  ”Mobile Health for Mothers” will give cell phones to 20 million pregnant women in Nigeria, South Africa, China, India and Bangladesh that will send messages with prenatal health information and receive calls from health experts.

“Research and Development Innovations” will involve research on HIV and tuberculosis treatments including looking for a way to prevent the diseases from passing from mother to child.

“Intestinal Worms and Children” will donate 200 million doses of the drug mebendazole a year to treat intestinal worms.

Lastly, “Safe Birth Programs” will provide birth and prenatal health education classes in hopes of preventing birth injuries like asphyxia.

If you or someone you know has suffered from asphyxia at birth, contact the Philadelphia asphyxia lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. at 215-238-1130 to learn more about your rights.