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Health Check: Giving small babies a better start

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Giving small babies a better start

2023/05/10 GMT

BBC World Service - Health Check, Giving small babies a better start

Simple changes to antenatal care which doctors say could save small babies’ lives

Giving small and vulnerable babies the best chance at survival; New research on surviving prostate cancer; Speech therapy for aphasia; Treating recurring stomach bugs…with bugs

One in four babies around the world is born too small. Either preterm, small for gestational age, or with a low birthweight. We hear from maternal health advocate Ashley Muteti from Nairobi in Kenya who has had three small babies, one of whom, Zuri, died after 49 days. Now a group of doctors is calling on health leaders around the world to focus on these ‘small and vulnerable newborns’, suggesting a series of small interventions for pregnant women which they say could save a million babies’ lives every year. 
Family doctor Dr Ann Robinson discusses a new study looking at the most effective treatment for men with localised prostate cancer. She also looks at evidence from the USA that a common stomach infection caused by long term courses of antibiotics might be effectively treated by oral bacteria.
And we hear from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London where a programme for people with aphasia is giving intensive speech therapy to people who struggle to speak after having a stroke. 

Image Credit: Morten Falch Sortland

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Clare Salisbury

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