The process of conception is similar in all women but pregnancies are different. There are those who go through the process with minor complications while others experience devastating conditions throughout the gestation period.
Most babies are supposed to be delivered 40 weeks after conception. This however does not happen and when babies are delivered sooner than they are expected with three weeks, this is regarded to as a premature birth.This has become a great health concern in the United States with ten percent of all births being premature and worrisome too, half of the premature babies’ succumb to the complications that arise during or after the delivery. Premature births can be caused by a number of factors such as vaginal infections, weak cervix and an abnormally shaped uterus among many others. Though there is no way it can be prevented, it can be avoided through medication to postpone labor and also through bed rest.
Premature babies go develop numerous complications such as respiratory problems and heart ailments as they are not well developed in the womb. They require proper handling as such complications can be extended late into adult life.Part IBefore commencing on the research paper, I had scant details about premature babies or the way they can be avoided as well as their causes. People say all manner of things regarding premature births with majority believing it is the fault of the mothers. I also believed this to be true.
Besides this too, I knew other factors that are related to the physiology of a woman’s body might be at play. With so many deaths related to premature births, I never imagined that a premature baby on her thirtieth week in the womb would survive. Though I knew that such babies are put into an incubator to keep them warm and protect them from infections, I did not know that this can also be done to premature babies in their 24th week. I wanted to find out what are the core factors behind premature births, how they can be avoided and whether such babies have a chance of survival.I also had great interest in knowing how such babies are different from the full term babies, the complications facing them as well as how they can be handled in neonatal care.Part III have looked at the statistics on the number of premature births in the United States and was surprised to discover that according to WHO 10% of all pregnancies end up as premature births.
The knowledge that this is a problem that is increasingly becoming prevalent aroused my curiosity. I have always marveled at pregnant women and wondered the sort of joy they experience because of having a second life growing in their wombs.During pregnancy, a woman is at her most vulnerable point in life and many take all the precautions necessary to cope with the uncertainties during pregnancy. Not many however are prepared enough to deal with the in-eventualities during premature labor.
I had also been seeing pictures of tiny babies being held in incubators as a child and have always wanted to know the reason behind this. It is this curiosity to know more about premature babies that led me to conduct this research.Part IIIMy first stop during the process of conducting this research was the internet.The internet contains all manner of information on premature babies and premature births.
My key interest was on the factors behind premature births, the way they can be avoided and the various complications that can arise in such babies. Apart from the internet, there are other sources that I consulted. I found a lot of journals on the issue and books that were written on this broad topic. There exists immense materials on the subject all trying to theorize on the causes and symptoms. I had to hop from one book to another, one site to another before I could come up with a comprehensive report on a single subject.
Where most books were focusing on the causes of premature births, most online sites were on the health and medical complications facing such premature babies. Having been confident that I had gathered ample materials on the subject, I began compiling them into one comprehensible paper.Part IVPremature births contribute greatly to infant mortalities. Risk of death increases with the decrease in the term of pregnancy. It is estimated that 10% of the children that die within the first month since birth are as a result of premature births.This is because premature babies are likely to develop a myriad of health complications that are related to developmental disability.
Barbara Luke (5) notes that “children who are born premature are more likely to have respiratory problems during childhood” In addition, they are also at a higher risk of developing complications such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and may also be more susceptible to stress and depression during their teenage hood. Causes of Premature Births There are a number of factors behind premature births some of which can be preventable while other cannot.One of such factors is related to chromosomal abnormalities. A woman during pregnancy is at her best behaviour and avoids harmful habits such as smoking and alcohol. Women who experience preterm births usually blame themselves but findings have it that 80% of all premature births are as a result of chromosomal abnormalities and not related in any way to a woman’s’ habits (Trachtenbarg and Goleman).
. Another possible cause of premature births is membrane rapture. This is when the sac holding the amniotic fluid bursts or gets punctured before the 37th week.This is also referred to as the PROM (Premature Rapture of Membranes) and may either happen in small trickles or in a gush. Immense research has been conducted on PROM but there is yet to be a finding on the exact cause of PROM. Tentative research has it that it is caused by vaginal infections.
It is not possible to use medications to stop PROM but tocolytics may be administered to arrest the commencement of labor. Tocolytics simply refers to medications that are prescribed upon a woman with premature rapture of membranes to suppress any further incidences of premature labor.Its effectiveness however is limited to only several days and requires close monitoring. Steroids may also be prescribed to aid the growth of the kid’s lungs and speed up the process of maturity; these however have been found to develop negative effects on the health of a preemie(Noble, Keith & Sorger 303).
. Premature births may also be caused by a weak cervix. The normal process of a woman’s body during pregnancy is that the cervix is supposed to soften with time as the pregnancy progresses, in preparation for dilation as delivery date approaches.An abnormality though may occur that results to a premature opening of the cervix. To prevent this, doctors sometimes may opt to surgically sew the weak cervix during the third month of pregnancy. This is later undone as the gestation period is about to close to allow for the normal birth process to commence.
This is the commonest way of preventing premature births especially in women that have a history of miscarriages and premature births. Women that have delivered preemies in the past are advised to take such precautions as premature births keep on recurring.Women who have uterus that are shaped abnormally are at a higher risk of delivering premature babies. An abnormally shaped uterus results to a situation where the space available for a baby to grow in is reduced and hence the womb becomes overstretched as the pregnancy progresses.
The resultant effect in this is that labor is initiated earlier than the usual time. Multiple pregnancies are also likely to result to a premature birth. Naturally, there is a limit to the elasticity of the uterus.A mother pregnant with twins, triplets or quadruplets has to deliver earlier when the womb reaches the limit of its elasticity.
Quadruplets may be born at the 28th week into the pregnancy, triplets at the 34th while twins can be delivered between the 37th and the 40th week. Apart from infections in the birth canal, premature births can be as a result of high blood pressure, traumatizing moments during the woman’s pregnancy such as horrific road accident. There are sizeable proportions of women that have delivered prematurely due to traumatizing experiences that will result into huge shock.Anxiety can also be a cause of preterm babies. It can also be as a result of chronic illness.
Complications within the placenta and the uterus though comprise of the greatest proportion of premature births. Not all causes of premature births are known, and some premature births may be as a result of a multiplicity of factors. Women that have had premature deliveries before are also likely to have a recurrence in future. Induced abortion in the past can also be a possible cause as well as women from age of 35 and above (Jonathan H). .
