{"id":6249,"date":"2024-07-31T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T03:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/?p=6249"},"modified":"2024-08-19T16:40:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T08:40:00","slug":"why-does-premature-births-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/31\/why-does-premature-births-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Does Premature Birth Happen?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I went out with a couple of my school friends for dinner and one of my friends had a premature baby at 26 weeks. The baby is growing and thriving at 2 years old right now. However, she has speech delays issues and is unable to swallow without a tube.

Hence, I decided to do some reading and found out further about premature births, the risk factors and potential complications that a child may face in the near future and far future.

Also, sometimes there may be causes or risk factor for a baby to be born premature. This post will share further on the definition of premature birth, risk factors and complications related to this type of pregnancy.

A premature birth means a baby is born before the 37th week of pregnancy.<\/strong> A typical pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A premature birth can be: <\/strong>
\u2022Late preterm, born between 34 and 36 completed weeks of pregnancy.
\u2022Moderately preterm, born between 32 and 34 weeks of pregnancy.
\u2022Very preterm, born between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy.
\u2022Extremely preterm, born before 28 weeks of pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The appearance of a premature baby. It can be seen that the head is larger than the body. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. Physical Features of those born premature<\/strong>
The baby may have very mild to severe features of being born premature. Some of the features are:
\u2022Features that are sharper and less rounded than a full-term baby’s features
due to a lack of cells that store fat
\u2022Fine hair that covers much of the body
\u2022Low body temperature, mainly right after birth in the delivery room
\u2022Trouble breathing
\u2022Feeding problems
\u2022Small size with a larger head than the body

Most of the time, this babies will be placed in NICU to be cared after.

2. Risk Factors <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A lady injecting hormones to stimulate egg production for IVF<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some risk factors linked to past and present pregnancies <\/strong>include:
\u2022Pregnancy with twins, triplets or other multiples.
\u2022A span of less than six months between pregnancies. It’s ideal to wait 18 to 24 months between pregnancies.
\u2022Treatments to help you get pregnant, called assisted reproduction, including in vitro fertilization (IVF).
\u2022More than one miscarriage or abortion.
\u2022A previous premature birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A mother holding her baby out of NICU <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some health problems of mother<\/strong> that can raise the risk of premature birth, such as:
\u2022Problems with reproductive organs such as uterus, cervix or placenta.
\u2022Infections mainly those of the amniotic fluid and lower genital tract.
\u2022Ongoing health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
\u2022External or internal injuries or trauma to the body
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adolescent pregnancy is pretty common in Africa and this increases risk of premature birth as the adolescent’s body is not fully developed<\/strong> to be able to cope with a pregnancy <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lifestyle choices<\/strong> also can raise the risk of a preterm pregnancy, such as:
\u2022Smoking cigarettes, taking illicit drugs or drinking alcohol often or heavily while pregnant.
\u2022Being underweight or overweight before pregnancy.
\u2022Becoming pregnant before the age of 17 or after 35.
\u2022Going through stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one or domestic violence.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Complications<\/strong>
Being born too early can cause short-term and long-term medical problems. The birth weight of a child determines the complications faced.

In the first weeks, the complications of premature birth may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Doctor is checking on a baby born premature that has breathing issues<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(i) Breathing problems<\/strong>
Premature babies may have trouble breathing due to being born with lungs that aren’t fully developed. It’s common for preterm babies to have pauses in their breathing called apnea. Most infants outgrow apnea by the time they go home from the hospital. However, some premature babies may need continuous oxygen to assist with their breathing. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Hydrocephalus is fluid build-up in the cavities of the brain and may lead to seizures<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

(ii) Brain problems<\/strong>
A premature baby is at a high risk of brain bleeding. Most haemorrhages are mild and resolve with little impact. However, some babies may have larger brain bleed that causes permanent brain injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A late premature baby in NICU with hemorrhage’s issues<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(iii) Temperature control problems<\/strong>
Premature babies can lose body heat quickly. They don’t have stored body fat similar to a full-term infant. If the body temperature drops too low, it can lead to hypothermia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bloated baby unable to digest formula milk<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(iv) Digestive problems<\/strong>
Premature infants are more likely to have digestive systems that aren’t fully developed. This can lead to problems such as injury to the bowel lining wall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For all blood test, baby’s blood is taken from the feet<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(v) Blood problems<\/strong>
Premature babies are at risk of blood problems such as anemia and newborn jaundice. With anaemia, the body doesn’t make enough red blood cells. All new-borns have a slow drop in red blood cell count during the first months of life. But that drop is greater in premature babies.

(vi) Metabolism problems<\/strong>
Premature babies often have problems with metabolism. Some premature babies may have a low level of blood sugar. This can happen because premature infants often have smaller amounts of stored blood sugar than do full-term babies. Premature babies also have more trouble turning their stored sugar into more-usable, active forms of blood sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Premature babies are usually kept in incubators as they have poor metabolism and cannot retain heat<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(vii) Poor Immune system<\/strong>
It’s common for premature babies to have immune systems that aren’t fully developed. This can lead to a higher risk of illnesses and sepsis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A baby born premature who just did a surgery to close the hole in the heart<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(viii) Heart problems<\/strong>
Some common heart problems that premature babies have are patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and low blood pressure. PDA is an opening between two important blood vessels, the aorta and the pulmonary artery. This heart defect often closes on its own. However, without treatment it can lead to problems such as heart failure.

Long-term complications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the long term, premature birth may lead to health problems such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A premature with cerebral palsy <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(i) Cerebral palsy
<\/strong>Cerebral palsy affects movement, muscle tone or posture. It can be due to an infection or poor blood flow. It also can stem from an injury to a new-born\u2019s brain, either during early pregnancy or while the baby is still young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This child suffers from difficulty learning and reading. He was born premature. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(ii) Learning issue<\/strong>
Premature babies are more likely to lag behind full-term babies on growing milestones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A toddler getting his eye checked s he was born premature. Look close enough and you will notice most premature babies start wearing spectacles at a young age.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(iii) Vision problems<\/strong>
Premature infants may get an eye disease called retinopathy of prematurity. This happens when blood vessels swell and grow too much in the light-sensing tissue at the back of the eye, retina. Sometimes these overgrown vessels slowly scar the retina and pull it out of place. This condition is known as retinal detachment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First hearing check in NICU <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(iv) Hearing problems<\/strong>
Premature babies have a higher risk of losing some hearing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A child aged more than a year old but the tooth is just erupting<\/strong>. By one year old, babies usually have 2-4 teeth. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(v) Dental problems<\/strong>
Preterm babies may be more likely than full-term babies to have defects with their enamel. Infants born prematurely may also may be more likely to have teeth that take longer to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Some premature babies may be on tube feeding for the next 2-3 years as they have swallowing difficulties <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

(vi) Ongoing health issues<\/strong>
Premature babies are more likely to have long-term health issues than are full-term infants. Illnesses, asthma and feeding problems are more likely to develop or linger. Premature infants also are at higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Reference: <\/strong>
1. Preterm birth. World Health Organisation (WHO).
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I went out with a couple of my school friends for dinner and one of my friends had a premature baby at 26 weeks. The baby is growing and thriving at 2 years old right now. However, she has speech delays issues and is unable to swallow without a tube. Hence, I decided to do…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":385,"featured_media":6428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,9,2],"tags":[691,692,690],"class_list":["post-6249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wise-health","category-wise-lifestyle","category-wise-moves","tag-baby","tag-birth","tag-premature"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/385"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6249"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6711,"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6249\/revisions\/6711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wise-mag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}