Scientists and Milestone Discoveries 1pages dabouble spaced

My News Story: While childbirth pain has been linked to postpartum
depression, the culprit may be the pain experienced by the mother
following childbirth, rather than during the labor and delivery process,
suggests new research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2018 annual
meeting.

Previous research has demonstrated the pain associated
with giving birth may increase the risk of postpartum depression but has
not specified which part of the labor process (e.g., before, during or
after delivery) may be the source of the problem. This is the first
study to differentiate postpartum pain from labor and delivery pain and
identify it as a significant risk factor for postpartum depression.

“For
many years, we have been concerned about how to manage labor pain, but
recovery pain after labor and delivery often is overlooked,” said Jie
Zhou, M.D., M.B.A., lead author of the study and assistant professor of
anesthesia at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School,
Boston. “Our research suggests we need to focus more on helping new
mothers manage pain after the baby is born.”

Symptoms of
postpartum depression — including extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety,
crying episodes, irritability and changes in sleep or eating patterns
— affect about 1 in 9 women, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). Postpartum depression can lead to lower
rates of breastfeeding and poor bonding with the baby.

In the
study, Dr. Zhou’s research group reviewed pain scores (from the start of
labor to hospital discharge) for 4,327 first-time mothers delivering a
single child vaginally or by cesarean delivery (C-section) at Brigham
and Women’s Hospital between June 1, 2015 and Dec. 31, 2017. They
compared pain scores to the mothers’ Edinburgh postnatal depression
scale (EPDS) scores one week after delivery.

Dr. Zhou found
postpartum depression was significantly associated with higher
postpartum pain scores. Mothers with postpartum depression demonstrated
more pain-related complaints during recovery and often needed additional
pain medication. Women in the postpartum depression group were more
likely to have delivered by C-section. They also had more reports of
inadequate postpartum pain control.

A number of factors can
contribute to postpartum depression. Researchers determined postpartum
depression was higher among women who were overweight or obese; who
suffered from a torn perineum (the area adjacent to the vaginal
opening); who had a history of depression, anxiety or chronic pain; and
whose babies were smaller and had lower Apgar scores, a scoring system
used to assess the physical health of newborns one minute and five
minutes after birth.

“While ibuprofen and similar pain medications
are considered adequate for pain control after childbirth, clearly some
women need additional help managing pain,” said Dr. Zhou. “We need to
do a better job identifying who is at risk for postpartum pain and
ensure they have adequate postpartum care.”

My
assignment: Darwin, Curie, Einstein, Newton… These are names we all have
heard at some point or another, but why? Throughout the ages,
scientists like these have endeavored to find answers to the questions
of the natural world and, in so doing, have helped advance science and
technology to help create the modern world we live in today.

After
you watch the video and read the article in learning block 5-3,
consider what scientist and milestone scientific discovery helped pave
the way for the natural-science topic you identified in your news story
in Theme: Understanding the Scientific Process. Provide a response to
the following questions in your initial post:

1. Identify the
   major historical scientific discovery that is the foundation for the
   natural science news story you have examined throughout the course. You
   may find the background information for this in the course materials in
   previous learning blocks. If you find that you need to conduct your own
   research, you can do so using the resources provided in Theme:
   Understanding the Scientific Process.
2. Provide a brief (2- to
   3-sentence) summary of the scientist who made the historical scientific
   discovery you identified in the first question. Use examples from your
   news story to show how this historical scientific discovery impacts our
   world today.

When responding to your peers’ posts, consider
how the work of the scientists they chose has influenced the modern
world. Why does their research matter to us as individuals? Are there
any connections to the natural-science topic you identified in your news
article?

Note: This discussion spans two weeks and is graded at
the end of Week 6. Your first post is due in Week 5, and your follow-up
posts (two) are due in Week 6. A 10% late penalty will be applied for
initial posts that are submitted after the assigned week. No discussion
activity will be accepted for credit after the close of the theme.