To be able to understand perinatal health disparities, low birth weight, preterm delivery, morbidity, and mortality of infants very important to determine most common causes which is: genetic background, age of mother, access to prenatal care, nutrition, drug use, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking. Each factor by itself can affect the birth outcome and cause low birth weight, preterm or morbidity of infants. Socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, immigrants status, low educational attainment geographic area of residence, multiple gestation pregnancies are associated with significantly increased risk of low birth weight and preterm delivery. Premature infants are at greater risk of long –term health and mental problems such as: Developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, cognitive deficiencies, mental retardation, behavioral problems, congenital heart anomalies, they prone to chronic health conditions. According to a study by Eunice Kennedy Shiver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)” 83% of …show more content…
Premature babies are more prone to diseases, they have more health problems which can lead to long-term health problems and disabilities, they may stay in the hospital longer than babies born later. All those complications possibly will have financial effect and affect education and workability of the person. “The Institute of Medicine reported that the cost associated with premature birth in the USA was $26.2 billion each year. $1.1 billion for special education services. $5.7 billion in lost work and pay for people born prematurely.About 1 in 3 children born prematurely need special school services.The Institute of Medicine says these services cost an estimated$2.200 per year per child.The Supplemental Security Income(SSI) program pays benefits to disable adults and children who have limited income and resources”( The impact of premature birth on the community and
Pam Jenkins is a 36 year-old woman that is 30 weeks into her third pregnancy. Since her pregnancy began, Pam has gained 20 pounds. Although Pam has reduced the amount that she smokes, she continues to smoke 5 cigarettes per day, which may cause some issues with her worry of another preterm birth. Another factor that could also cause complications is her delayed prenatal vitamin use. After logging her dietary intake within a 24 hour period into SuperTracker, I will be making recommendations on how she can alter her diet and lifestyle to ensure that Pam receives the nutrients she needs for herself and for her baby.
One issue that is a big factor causing this is stress caused by racism. According to “Can Stress Cause Premature Labor?” By Cherly Bird, RN. Chronic stress is a stressful situation occurs and is not resolved, or reoccurs. The body is not able to cope with the stressful situation and does not return to normal. Studies show that moms with more stress are more likely to go into labor early, so we can say that stress increases a mom's risk of premature labor. When you are stressed the body can react in different ways, either with blood pressure or hormones. Some things that can help control the stress is counseling, talking about how you feel can help. Also, exercising, or complimentary therapies are a good way to help be more relaxed during a pregnancy.
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.
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.
Diabetes Programs: The Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute Experience. Curr Diab Rep Current Diabetes Reports, 14(2). Doi:10.1007/s11892-013-0462-0
Culture plays a key role in the quality of healthcare or health insurance services offered to patients. Disparities are ethnic or racial differences in the quality of healthcare. Ethnic or racial minorities tend to receive poor quality healthcare services compared to the majority ethnic group.
The disparities may be attributed to the amount of prenatal care that pregnant women of different ethnicities receive. In 1996, 81.8% of all women in the nation received prenatal care in the first trimester--the m...
It is important to understand what women commonly experience during pregnancy. With a better understanding of what happens during prenatal development and childbirth, physicians can competently develop the best plan for the mother and baby. I interviewed two women who have been previously pregnant in order to evaluate how the ideas in the book translate into real-life experiences.
have higher rates of low birth weighted need special care right after birth for times as
Some characteristics of DS are: deep folds at the corners of the eyes, hypotonia, short stature, flexible joints, small oral cavity and heart defects (Taylor, Richards, & Brady, 2005). Most individuals with DS have a moderate intellectual disability, although there is a range of disability, from severe to high functioning (IQ above 70). Since DS is a birth defect and not a disease, there are no treatment options. Improvement can be made through physicians, special education, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and psychol...
Researchers first proposed that education and high social economic status remark a healthier birth rate among individuals, especially for white American’s. During the film Unnatural causes: Is inequality making us sick? (PBS, 2008), studies consisted of African American premature birth rate three times higher in comparison to white American’s with or without an education. Researchers also imposed to raise African Americans who had a higher education in comparison to white Americans and results still consist of African Americans to have a higher premature birth rate. Overall conducting multiple studies, researchers found that there is no correlation between higher social economic status and birth rates, restating that socioeconomic status do not affect premature birth
So, it is important to address causes of these long-term and chronic stressful events in African American women. The impact of racism on these women cannot be ignored as such high infant mortality rates and low birth weight babies are matters of public health importance. One of the indicators of good health care in a country is the number of healthy babies born. The United States of America has one of the worst infant mortality rates among developed or first world countries, with preterm births being the second cause of infant mortality
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.
Child development can be negatively influenced by risk factors, including hereditary and environmental factors. Some pre-natal environment factors related to mothers during pregnancy include: nutritional deficiencies, diabetic mother, drug and alcohol use, and more. Some post-natal environment factors include: socio-economic status of the family, child’s nutrition, family structure, child’s emotions, and more. Malnutrition, maternal depression, and maternal substance abuse are three of these factors which have received particular attention by researchers, however, many more factors have been
Low birth weight initially give sad result as preterm birth in early delivering in before 37 weeks or stopped fetal growth. There mortality and morbidity rate can increase and also inhibited growth and cognitive development and chronic illness in different life stages. Number of factors affect to this condition. Intra-uterine growth decreasing it cause where fetal growth going to constrained. Most of vitamin and mineral defici...