Premature Babies Essay

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.

Other health factors maybe that the child was born premature, as they are more likely to develop slower than a healthy born child. There may be an effect on their physical development, as they are a smaller and behind on developing. This may also have an in pact on their intellectual development, as it has been shown that premature babies struggle with maths. Burdo-Hartman says.

According to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, “In the United States, nearly thirteen percent of babies are born preterm, and many of these babies also have a low birth weight.” The baby may be put into the NICU for varies reasons. However, the most common reason that a child is put into the NICU is because he or she is

Babies born earlier, such as 25 weeks will need medical support in order to survive and are usually placed in incubator – designed to keep baby worm and free from infection. Premature babies are at a higher risk of developing, sight problems or learning difficulties.

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

According to Healthy People 2020, "Improving the well-being of mothers, infants, and children, is an important public health goal for the United States. Their well-being determines the health of the next generation and can help predict future public health challenges for families, communities, and the health care system" (Healthy People 2020, 2015). Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant before his or her first birthday, while fetal mortality is defined as the intrauterine death of a fetus at any gestational age (MMRW, 2013 and MacDorman, Kirmeyer & Wilson, 2012). In the United States an estimated 13,000 fetal deaths occurred ≥ 28 weeks gestation making up 28% of all perinatal deaths in 2006, the latest year with available national data (Lee,

In the case of the family, low birth weight babies will place increasing amounts of pressure on its structure over the short and long term. This is because everyone will have to care more for them which will impact their ability to interact with each other. At the same time, there will be greater financial and emotional pressures placed on the family from the ongoing treatment of these children.

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

By launching the “Prematurity Campaign” in which it reports the crisis and help families have to what is consider normal full-term, healthy babies. By launching the Prematurity Campaign to address the crisis and help families have full-term, healthy babies. From depth research has shown prematurity can cause long-term health problems for babies. Premature infants may have a tougher time while learning in school. Most of the post problems arise from incomplete development. The effect of premature birth on language development plays a key role to highlight a series of deficits in preterm low-birth-weight children. Language development problems are among these

Birth defects, also known as congenital anomalies, is the second leading cause of death for infant accounted for 20.9 percent of all infant deaths in U.S in 2011 (U.S. Dept, 2016).

Socioeconomic conditions also played a role in my preterm birth, because I live with someone who smoked cigarettes and also used illicit drugs from time to time. As a result I delivered a baby girl at 24 weeks gestation which is 16 weeks premature and was just two weeks beyond the point of viability. My child weighed 1 lb. 8 oz. and was 12 inches long. The psychological effects after the birth of my child were even more devastating. Knowing that the situation could have been prevented has always weighed heavy on my mind as my child battle with many issues due to her prematurity. These issues resulted in the use of oxygen, and apnea monitor, and also a feeding tube. In the beginning there were many developmental delays such as, she did call until she was one years old and she did not walk until she was two years old. Though those were the short term effects, there are also long-term effects such as lack of confidence and attention deficit disorder. Vision problems are another long- term effect that my daughter suffered from preterm birth. In many cases, the retina will detach from the eye causing blindness around the actual due date. Fortunately for me and my daughter we were able to avoid the detachment but we still have to deal with the vision problems caused by early delivery.

At 13 weeks into her pregnancy, 29-year-old Jessica Smith lost her 5th baby, lifesitenews states. “I expected to be handed a blob that early into pregnancy. But instead, I was handed a perfectly formed tiny baby. He had perfectly formed fingers and toes. He had tiny, completely identifiable ears, nose, and mouth,” Jessica Smith told lifesitenews. According to Procon, abortion is one of the most debated topics in the United States (Procon).  Planned Parenthood states, there are two different ways a woman can undergo an abortion, the abortion pill, or an in-clinic abortion. The pill only works up to ten weeks into a pregnancy. The doctor will give a woman her first pill in the clinic, and anywhere from six to 48 hours later, a woman can take the second one at home. There are two different types of in-clinical abortions. A suction abortion is used for a pregnancy anywhere between ten and 16 weeks. It uses suction to empty the uterus. Dilation and evacuation is used for a pregnancy anytime after 16 weeks and involves suction, and medical tools to empty a woman’s uterus (Planned Parenthood). Abortion results in terminating an unwanted pregnancy and should be illegal worldwide.

Infant mortality is and has been an issue for a very long time. It can be defined as the rate of deaths that happen before a child’s first birthday (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). A consequence of infant mortality is the mental health of the family that must deal with the death of a child; when one loses a child very early it can be difficult to cope with and the parents might develop depression. There are several risk factors for infant mortality, including congenital abnormalities, being born preterm, having a low birth weight, and lower socioeconomic status of the child’s family. Furthermore, a problem such as this is contingent upon access to health care; third-world countries and impoverished areas might have little to no access to health care, therefore, increasing the risk of complications with a pregnancy. A mother must have prenatal care to support good health for the baby.

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?

While some women who received no prenatal care had normal, uncomplicated births, others did not. Most of the women who did not receive adequate prenatal care gave birth to an underweight and underdeveloped infant. Among the benefits of early, comprehensive prenatal care are decreased risk of preterm deliveries and low birth weight (LBW)-both major predictors of infant morbidity and mortality. (Dixon, Cobb, Clarke, 2000). Preterm deliveries, deliveries prior to 37 weeks of gestation, have risen. Since the studies in 1987, which showed the rate of preterm deliveries as 6.9% of births, the 1997 rate shows an increase to 7.5%. Low birth weight, defined as an infant weighing less than 2500 grams (5lbs. 5oz) is often preceded by preterm delivery. Low