Prematurity
Premature Babies
When the baby is born prematurely need special medical care. Can be monitored in a particular sector of motherhood, or even being hospitalized in a pediatric service. When the child is premature or ill there is another solution: The neonatal units.
It is considered premature baby who was born before 37 weeks gestation. As a consequence, their bodies and core functions have not reached maturity. The premature baby will need to develop within the incubator in the first place if born before the end of the eighth month, if less than 2.5 kilos, if you are malnourished, if you have trouble breathing or have had a difficult birth. In any case, it will be kept under close surveillance by the medical team. Read the rest of this entry »
Global Study of Preterm Birth
The World Health Organization has recently published a study which raised a number of objectives, such as evaluating the incidence of preterm birth and knows their distribution in the world to develop strategies for prevention and action.
Global prematurity rates, regional distribution and assessment strategies have been the targets they have set the research team led by Stacy Beck in the study has been published by WHO in its official gazette the name of “Impact World of preterm birth: systematic review of maternal morbidity and mortality. ”
To accomplish this were based on data on maternal mortality and morbidity between 1997 and 2002 officers also carried out a widespread search which extended the period until the year 2007, with missing data and models were found by multiple regressions specific to each location.
A 9.6% of premature births registered in 2005, of which 85% of those between Africa and Asia, 7% in the Caribbean and Latin America and 4% in both Europe and North America, excluding Mexico. Read the rest of this entry »
Causes of prematurity
Currently, prenatal diagnosis detects not only problems but also maternal fetal problems. Control of the welfare check and allow normal fetal abnormalities and even perform intrauterine fetal treatments.
Checks can be made through:
• Ultrasound or ultrasonography is a diagnostic over the image to visualize through sound waves like a baby grows. It also allows measuring the baby in the uterus and assess its size to calculate indirectly gestational age.
• Alpha-fetoprotein: a blood test to detect problems with the brain or spine in the baby.
• Amniocentesis: an analysis of the liquid in which the baby is being developed to detect genetic disorders. Lets also known fetal lung maturity when the study was done in about the 36th week of pregnancy.
Statistics indicate that preterm births have not declined despite advances and regular checks of pregnancy. In Argentina, about 10% of deliveries take place before completion of pregnancy, ie before 37 weeks.
Rest and medication can help prevent contractions and labor before the expected date. When the causes of prematurity are known as incompetent cervix or placental problems. The risk is higher when an infection in the placenta and the fluid bathing the baby. Continuous monitoring is important as bacteriological analysis in order to administer the antibiotic to treat the infection.
The groups at highest risk of preterm labor:
* With a history of:
- One or more abortions or premature deliveries.
- Two or more elective abortions.
- Operations of the cervix.
* During pregnancy:
- Twin pregnancy.
- Increase in amniotic fluid.
- Much stress (physical or psychological).
- Multiple pregnancies.
- Pregnancies that have not previously been viable and current authorized but often end in premature birth by having major pathologies or elderly mother.