Premature Birth: The Life of a Premature Baby

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Premature Birth: The Life of a Premature Baby

“Babies born before thirty-seven weeks of gestation are classified of premature”, (Boenker). Premature babies usually are underweight and highly need specialty medical care. “The number of premature births is increasing and occurs in eight to ten percent of all pregnancies in the United States” (“Premature Baby Stats”). Premature births can cause lifetime affects on infants as well as life changing events for their families.

Some of the causes of premature births are:

Previous premature birth, miscarriage, or multiple abortions.

History of kidney disease.

Structural problems in the uterus such as weakened cervix, heart-shaped and divided uterus.

Prenatal complications such as placental problems, insufficient amount of amniotic fluid, uterine fibroids, preeclampsia or toxemia, early rupture of the membranes, infection of the uterus, multiple babies, obesity, being very underweight from undernourishment.

In some instances the risk of premature births are caused by cigarette smoking, drug abuse, and the lack of prenatal care, (Sears, Premature Baby Book, Pages 5 & 6).

Prior to the delivery of the baby, mothers can receive steroid injections to help mature the lungs of the fetus. Once the infant is born, doctors and nurses monitor the baby’s respiratory status and evaluates if the baby needs assistance with breathing. Using a sensor taped to the infant’s foot or hand monitors the oxygen level in the blood. Based on the evaluation, infants may either need positive forced pressure blown into the nose to make breathing easier or may have to be placed on a ventilator attached to a tube inserted through the infant’s mouth into the lungs. Infants are heavily sedated, g...

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