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Impact of low birth weight
Impact of low birth weight
Risks of low birth weight
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Causes and Consequences of Low Birth weight
Birth of a baby is the start of a new era of a generation. As the new born infants are the internodes of the future, In order to have a health and strength population they should be given the proper health status from the beginning of their life. From the birth an infant can cause lot of health risks such as birth defects, severe organ damages or functional problems and even the death. All most all the above health risks are occurred due to the nutritional problems as well as the physical damages. With the reference of most out coming results in the world, as LBW contributes to 60% to 80% of all neonatal deaths, the Low birth weight (LBW) has become a common problem that occurs at the first step of infants’ life and moreover it has become a severe problem as the health risks due to the Low birth weight can be even seen at the adulthood of a person who are born with low birth weight.
Birth weight is considered as the first weight that measures immediately after birth of the baby. Birth weight of an infant is a strong indicator of the newborn's survival chances, growth, long-term health as well as the psychosocial development. Furthermore it is an efficient sign of the health and nutritional status during the pregnancy period and pre pregnancy period. Low birth weight has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as weight at birth of less than2500 grams (5.5 pounds). According to their survey results low birth weight babies are approximately 20 times have the chance of being fatal than normal babies within the first year of their life time. This LBW has become a crucial issue especially in the developing countries rather than in the developed countries. According to the estimat...
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...gher chance of delivering LBW babies.
LBW babies are become such a crucial problem because Low-birth-weight can be affected in later in the life time too. Those babies may not be fully prepared to live in the environment which is full of infections and the ability of control their body temperatures, as well as they are not capable of gaining weight after birth too. Due to such complexness’s, almost all low-birth weight babies are cared under special units in neonatal intensive care unit before send to the family. In the future also they are tending to be undernourished, throughout their lives with reduced muscle strength, with a higher probability of diabetes and heart diseases. The LBW babies are also reports as much higher in have cognitive disabilities and a less IQ levels, since their performance in education and professional levels can be affected as adults.
The very low birth weight are newborns that weigh less than 3.3 pounds (1,500 grams). Unfortunately, newborns that are under 3.3 pounds (1,500 grams) do not often survive, and the ones that do have delayed motor skills and cognitive development. The numbers decrease further to extremely low birth weight of 2.2 pounds (1,000 grams), where chance of life is very small. Low birth weight babies 1,500 grams – 2,500 grams (3.3 -5.5 pounds) have a good chance they will survive with proper care. Newborns that are small-for-date are placed in incubators that are sealed beds where temperature and air quality is regulated. The beds isolate the infants from pathogens and the environment. The babies need sensory stimulation to grow, so a recorded tape is played of the mothers soothing voice. Visual stimulation from video, and tactile stimulation helps foster physical and cognitive development in the baby. At five months while the fetus is in the womb ithas sensory capabilities, and can hear the mother’s heart beating, food digestion, speaking, and others speaking to her! The incubator stimulates this environment. There is great success with proper attention and care to the low birth weight babies, and. Many of the low birth weight babies are effects of parents that live in poverty, unable to access adequate medical care, and they experience stress due to an unhealthy family life.
Neonatal nursing is a field of nursing designed especially for both newborns and infants up to 28 days old. The term neonatal comes from neo, "new", and natal, "pertaining to birth or origin”. Neonatal nurses are a vital part of the neonatal care team. These are trained professionals who concentrate on ensuring that the newborn infants under their care are able to survive whatever potential life threatening event they encounter. They treat infants that are born with a variety of life threatening issues that include instances of prematurity, congenital birth defects, surgery related problems, cardiac malformations, severe burns, or acute infection. Neonatal care in hospitals was always done by the nursing staff but it did not officially become a specialized medical field until well into 1960s. This was due to the numerous advancements in both medical care training and related technology that allowed for the improved treatment and survival rate of premature babies. According to the March of Dimes, one of every thirteen babies born in the United States annually suffers from low birth weight. This is a leading cause in 65% of infant deaths. Therefore, nurses play a very important role in providing round the clock care for these infants, those born with birth defects or other life threatening illness. In addition, these nurses also tend to healthy babies while their mothers recover from the birthing process. Prior to the advent of this specialized nursing field at risk newborn infants were mostly cared for by obstetricians and midwives who had limited resources to help them survive (Meeks 3).
Two-thirds of infants die during the first month of life due to low birth weight (Lia-Hoagberg et al, 1990). One reason for this outcome is primarily due to difficulties in accessing prenatal care. Prenatal health care encompasses the health of women in both pre and post childbearing years and provides the support for a healthy lifestyle for the mother and fetus and/or infant. This form of care plays an important role in the prevention of poor birth outcomes, such as prematurity, low birth weight and infant mortality, where education, risk assessment, treatment of complications, and monitoring of fetus development are vital (McKenzie, Pinger,& Kotecki, 2012). Although every woman is recommended to receive prenatal health care, low-income and disadvantaged minority women do not seek care due to structural and individual barriers.
Newborn case fatality rates associated with hypothermia range from 8.5% to 52% (Lunze et al., 2013). An estimate of eighteen million infants are born with a low birth weight annually, and sixty to eighty percent of neonatal deaths are accounted for due to low birth weight (Lunze, 2013). Premature infants and infants with a low birth weight are at increased risks for becoming hypothermic due to insufficient amounts of brown fat. A systemic review and meta-analyses were conducted to analyze infant hypothermia (Lunze, 2013). Through research is was found that factors associated with hypothermia include environmental, physiological, behavioral, and socioeconomic (Lunze, 2013). These various factors encompass seasonal weather, anatomic characteristics, hypoglycemia, early bathing, and infants born to young and unexperienced mothers (Lunze,
Gregson, S., & Blacker, J. (2011). Kangaroo care in pre-term or low birth weight babies in a postnatal ward. British Journal Of Midwifery, 19(9), 568-577.
have higher rates of low birth weighted need special care right after birth for times as
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 premature. Premature means the baby was born before the 36 weeks. It is never good for a baby to be born early, as this could mean that the baby is not fully developed. There are other factors as to why a child may need to be put into the NICU after birth. For instance, birth defects can be the cause of why a baby is put into the NICU. A baby may be born with an infection such as herpes or chlamydia which can damage the newborns immune system at such a young age. Low blood sugar or hypoglycemia can also cause an infant to be put into the NICU. Some maternal factors of why a baby may be put into the NICU is if the mother is “younger than 16 or older than 40.” If the parent may be an alcoholic or expose the baby to drugs, this can put the child into NICU care. If the parent has an STD or sexual transmitted disease, the baby is most likely going to have to be put into the intensive care unit. “Twins, triplets, and other multiples are often admitted into the NICU, as they tend to be born earlier and s...
Umberto de Vonderweid, Marialisa Leonessa, Family centered neonatal care, Early Human Development, Volume 85, Issue 10, Supplement 1, Proceedings and selected abstracts from 1st International Conference on Clinical Neonatology Torino, Italy, November 2009, October 2009, Pages S37-S38, ISSN 0378-3782, DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2009.08.009.
Premature birth is when an infant is born 37 weeks before appointed due date. Premature babies are not completely developed and not ready for the outside world. Cases of premature birth can either be slight and not noticeable or completely severe. My brother was born two months premature and had to stay in the hospital for a month attached to machines and IVs. My mother was not able to take her first child home and have a complete certainty that her newborn baby will even be alive. I chose this topic because I am very fortunate for having a strong and healthy eighteen year old brother, even though he was premature. I have gained a strong curiosity towards the effect of prematurity; how some are greatly affected and why some women go into labor premature. I want this research to let me know that I’m not taking my brother for granted. Due to my brother being premature, he is quite shorter compared to most people. My brother and I also have the same birthday. This allows us to pretend we are twins. His effect of being premature is not noticeable because he did not obtain a severe condition. With this research paper, I hope to gain knowledge and acknowledgment towards the people affected due to premature birth.
In Indigenous Australian communities low birth weight infants and infant mortality is much more common than in non-Indigenous Australian communities.
Low birth weight (LBW) has become a public health problem in many regions of the world and it is the predominant cause of infant mortality. According to statistics of World Health Organization, there are about 30 million of low birth weight babies born in the world annually. Low Birth weight can be defined as the birth weight of a new born baby of less than 2.500 Kg regardless their gestational age at birth. This can be seen on both preterm babies as well as mature babies who have slow prenatal growth rate. Infants who are Low Birth Weight are more likely to have both short term and long term severe health consequences.
An LGA baby has a higher risk of injury during birth and complications after birth. Risks and complications to the mother include:
A healthy diet is very important because the deficiency of some nutrients can cause various adverse effects for both, mother and the fetus. It is know that the mother and the baby compete for the same nutrients and calories, and for this reason it is necessary that mothers have a balanced diet of nutrients for you and your baby. Most nutritional and metabolic needs can be met by eating a balanced daily diet containing approximately 35 kcal for each kilogram of optimal body weight plus an additional 300 kcal/day during the second and third trimesters. An inadequate diet can cause impaired growth of the fetus and it may be born too small and even underweight. Thus to be nourished properly makes the pregnant woman has a healthy life and to develop less risk of suffering premature deliveries, giving birth to more babies healthy. In addition some changes that occur during the pregnancy such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, hemorrhoids, heartburn and swelling can also be minimized with a proper diet.
Preterm birth is defined as ‘any neonate whose birth occurs before the thirty seventh week of gestation’1 and represents approximately eight percent of all pregnancies1-4. It is eminent that these preterm infants are at risk of physical and neurological delay, with prolonged hospitalisation and an increased risk of long-term morbidity evident in prior literature3, 5-13. Innovative healthcare over the past thirty years has reduced mortality significantly14, with the survival rate of preterm infants having increased from twenty five percent in 1980 to seventy three percent in 200715. Despite, this drop in mortality long-term morbidity continues to remain within these surviving infants sparking a cause for concern15, 16.