Infants are by far the most fragile form of life that hospitals and families help bring into this world because they are new and have no way of telling us if something is wrong. November was premature baby awareness month and now it is no surprise that January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month, because babies are a high priority.

A birth defect is defined as a structural, functional, or metabolism abnormality and several thousand of them have been recorded throughout history. As a leading cause of infant mortality including over 20 percent of all infant deaths in the United States each year, the impact of birth defects is greater than anyone would care to think about. There are 18 birth defects common to the rest of the infant population that survive the initial diagnosis and the estimated cost to provide care for those infants is more than $8 billion.

Research done by the NBDPN says that there are currently 37 states with operational birth defect facilities, 8 states with plans for operational facilities, and still 5 states without any functioning data centers for birth defect research. The main Centers for Birth Defects Centers for Research and Prevention are in the following states providing incredible investigations into trends among infants born with certain defects, innovative prevention tactics, and developing policies for children living with these disorders: California, Texas, Arkansas, Iowa, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York and Utah.

Each January the NBFPN develops a theme in which to provide information relating to birth defects and prevention in a concentrated way. The theme for 2009 is “Getting Fit for Pregnancy,” helping newly pregnant women to deal with the pressures of keeping their bodies healthy while eating for two or more. By spreading national awareness with their theme, many women can benefit from knowing the risks involved in carrying a baby by having the stress of excess weight on their bodies prior to conception. Obesity is a growing epidemic and women who fall into a specific weight bracket in conjunction with their age and height, tend to have riskier pregnancies as a result of the body’s added exertion and are more likely to have hypertension, preeclampsia or gestational diabetes.

Researchers in Australia have identified a new drug that could potentially ease jet lag and sleep disorders caused by working in shifts.

Shantha Rajaratnam from Monash University’s School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine said tasimelteon, a drug which acts on melatonin receptors in the brain, could be a highly effective treatment for circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

‘Our studies show that tasimelteon is able to effectively shift the rhythm of melatonin levels in the body, which are a well-established marker of the human biological clock,’ Rajaratnam said.

‘This drug has the potential to improve the quality and quantity of sleep for patients with transient insomnia caused by jet lag,’ she added.

Tasimelteon improved a patient’s ability to fall asleep and then stay asleep when bedtime was shifted earlier by five hours, according to a Monash University press release.

About two thirds of all international travellers who cross time zones experience jet lag symptoms, which include disruption of sleep, difficulty getting to and staying asleep, sleepiness during waking hours and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Rajaratnam said the drug could also help those who work at night or early in the morning.

The drug is in the later stages of trials and must undergo rigorous testing before being made available to consumers. The research was publsihed in The Lancet.