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Showing posts from February, 2013

From the Desk of the President

The Prez says….. Hello, my name is Dr. Peter B. Untalan and I am a neonatologist here in Austin.   A neonatologist is a doctor who takes care of sick newborns.   The babies a neonatologist takes care of can include a full-term infant born with pneumonia or a heart condition, but most people associate us with taking care of premature babies. Premature babies face many challenges on their journey to get home with their parents.   They aren’t big enough to maintain their own temperature. Their skin is so thin they can literally dehydrate in a matter of hours.   Their immune system is so fragile that normal skin bacteria can cause life-threatening infections.   Their lungs are tissue thin and some need extra oxygen when they go home.   Their brain and eyes aren’t completely developed and any interruption in development can be damaging to the baby’s brain and ability to see. Technology is developing at a rapid pace, allowing us to take care of smaller and smaller premature infants-s