Personal Statement: Why I March For Babies

According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2016), preterm birth are the birth that happened before 37 ended weeks of pregnancy and is one of the number reason of newborn deaths and the second prominent cause of deaths in children below five. The preterm babies have chances of an amplified risk of illness, disability and death. In the first weeks, the complications of premature birth may include: breathing problems, heart problems, brain problems, temperature control problems, gastrointestinal problems, blood problems, metabolism problems, immune system problems. Long-term complications includes cerebral palsy, impaired cognitive skills, vision problem, hearing problems, dental problems, behavioral and psychological problems, chronic health issues.

Infant mortality rate constitutes the death of a baby before their first birthday. Mortality rates around the world differ tremendously with America leading the first world countries at an alarming rate of 6.1 deaths per 1,000 births. Conversely, Finland and Japan secure the last, most desirable position, with deaths totaling 2.3 per 1,000 births, as of 2010. (Ovaska-Few, 2015) In 2014, over 23,000 babies died in the United States. (CDC, 2016) Exploring the mortality rates in America brings light to a dire need for additional interventions and research as to why this developing nation has the highest rate of infant deaths before the age of 1 year old. African Americans face the worst outcomes of infant death compared to whites, Latino, and their Native American peers in North Carolina. (Ovaska-Few, 2015) This paper will explore why African American are the leading race for infant mortality and the steps that health communities need to take to address this devastating occurrence.

Did you ever consider everything that has to go exactly right for a baby to be born with out any birth defects, prematurity, or low birth weight? The answer is a lot, and according to the March of Dimes more then 460,000 babies are born prematurely every year in the United States alone (March of Dimes website). Recently, this statistic hit closer to home when a close friend of mine gave birth to her first child. At five months she was informed that her baby would be born prematurely with a hole in its diaphragm, a birth defect that could mean life or death. When the time came to deliver, the doctors performed a caesarean section. With the help of supporting organizations and

The first problem that needs to be addressed is simply the lack of access for women in vulnerable populations to prenatal care. This is a major problem because we see that the rate of women who

Premature birth is an important public health priority in terms of health of women and infants. Every year an estimated 15 million preterm babies are born and this number is still rising (WHO, 2015).In 2014, 1 of every 10 babies born in United States were premature and black infants were 50% more likely to be born premature than white, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific islander infants (CDC,2015). Almost 1 million children die each year due to complications of premature birth (WHO, 2015). Major survivors face lifelong disabilities like learning disabilities, hearing, visual, feeding, digestive, breathing and respiratory problems (CDC, 2015) and low birth weight (March of Dimes, 2014). A major challenge in decreasing the rate of preterm birth is

Infant deaths in the neonatal period are caused by complications arising from preterm births, birth defects, maternal health conditions, complications of labor and delivery, and lack of access to appropriate care at the time of delivery. Infant deaths in the post-neonatal period are driven by sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) (including sudden infant death syndrome [SIDS]), injury, and infection (MMRW, 2013). An increasing proportion of post-neonatal infant deaths occur among infants who were born preterm but survived the neonatal period (Callaghan, 2006). On the other hand there is lesser knowledge of the incidence and etilogy of fetal mortality which according to MacDorman et al, makes fetal mortality an overlooked public health issue. Lee et al, echoed the same idea when they said infant mortality has been the main focus of public health programming while fetal deaths have gone untargeted. However, with the decrease in infant mortality rates there have been recent approaches such as perinatal period of risk analysis framework (PPOR) that highlight the need to include fetal

The advanced technology today makes it possible to fetus’s potential conditions when it is born. Not everything is perfect and sometimes we find out that a baby

Economic growth has much improved the infant mortality rate though better healthcare facilities and living conditions. Japan has fallen to one of the world’s lowest infant mortality levels at 3.6 per 1,000 live births in 2006 (Saigusa, 2006). Infant mortality is largely affected by the health of the mother, which makes pre-natal health imperative in keeping infant mortality rates low. Since Japan offers health care to all, access to prenatal care is easier to get therefore making mothers healthier and help in finding complications earlier in the pregnancy.

On the day of November 30,2000, Jennifer and Travis Vineyard’s second son, Hayden Matthew, was born inside of a room at the University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was born in November, but my parents were expecting me to be born in January of 2001, making me a premature. I was very small as a baby with only being 3 pounds and 15 ounces. I was the smallest baby in my family. As a baby I was hard to handle with not being able to breath on my own, my family was being hopeful that I would survive, the doctors weren’t. And with a little bit of praying, I was able to start breathing on my own.

Regardless of healthcare and medical advances, birth outcome disparities continue to exist in the United States. In 2014, 1 out of 10 infant births were premature, correlating to over 380,000 infants born prematurely (Health 2016). The current national average for infant births before 37 weeks is 9.6% (Services 2010). Premature birth is identified as a birth that occurs before the 37- week gestation. During the preterm period, infants are placed at a high risk of death and developing disabilities that may cause permanent handicap. Mothers that give birth preterm may partake in risky behaviors such as smoking and drug usage, lack proper nutrition, and are burdened financially. Maternal education intervention programs centered around the Health Belief Model may have a positive impact on maternal care and prevent premature birth.

This time the awareness campaign involves a real-life experiment featuring to-be mother, Sangrahi. The campaign conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, begins with hard-hitting stats – 6 million children die before they reach the age of 5. 44% of these deaths occur in the first 28 days of birth.

"Up to 12% of deliveries in developed countries are preterm." This is approximately 500,000 premature births per year. In 2009, my cousin was born ten weeks prematurely, weighing merely two pounds, four ounces. After spending a copious amount of time in and out of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with my family over the course of a month, I developed an interest in its operation. Being a neonatologist became my leading occupation of interest. I chose to further research this topic in hopes of finding out whether or not this is the career path for me. In my research paper, I plan to go into further detail about the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), common medical conditions found in premature infants, how to react and treat these medical conditions, and necessary education to become a neonatologist.

A sustainable amount of research has been done throughout the years on the cause and effect of adverse birth outcomes. These

Preterm birth can be a devastating experience not only for the mother, but also for the child. This issue has plagued the United States and other countries for many years, and no concrete evidence have been found to tell us why preterm birth occurs. One in eight babies in the United States is born premature each year. The impact of social support on the psychological well-being, attitudes, and behavior of parents is rapidly becoming a major issue. It is becoming more and more difficult for mothers to cope with the long-term and short-term effects of premature birth. These parents’ attitude and behavior can have both a direct and indirect effect on the child's

Preterm Birth is one of the most important and interesting topics to any prospective parent. One of the reasons is because it happens so often and unexpectedly. Preterm Birth has become a personal interest in research simply because it has made a tremendous impact in my life. Having a Preterm Birth has taught me lots of things, such as, to grow as a person and as a mother, to see things from a different perspective, to get up, continue with my life, and perhaps to learn how to say “good bye” to a little one without even saying “hello.” For all the reasons above, there are some questions I would like to address: Why do preterm births happen and how can it be prevented? What kind of help is offered to parents and family members who go through the process of having a preterm birth? How effective and relevant is that help?