Fight of Your Life Club: Prematurity Awareness Month

Today 1,300 babies will be whisked away from their mothers in the delivery room to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where an incubator will become his or her home for days, weeks or sometimes months. They can break your heart to see, no bigger than the palm of your hand. Sadly, as good as we are at saving these premature infants, some won’t make it. Still, many will survive, but with an increased risk of serious medical complications and other consequences down the road.

In observance of Prematurity Awareness Month, a campaign lead by the March of Dimes, Healthline wants to get the word out to everyone about keeping babies out of the NICU.

Risk Factors for Preterm Birth

• Previous preterm birth
• Pregnant with multiples
• Uterine or cervical abnormalities
• Poor prenatal care
• Smoking
• Alcohol consumption
• Recreational drugs Exposure to DES
• Physical, sexual or emotional abuse
• Lack of social support
• Stress
• Long working hours with long periods of standing
• Infections (especially urinary tract infections)
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Clotting disorders (thrombophilia)
• Under or overweight before pregnancy
• Short interval between pregnancies
  

Control Factors

• Control conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and infections
• Assess the risks of certain medications, herbal supplements and over-the-counter preparations before you become pregnant
• Start taking a multivitamin with folic acid daily
• Stop smoking before pregnancy or ASAP
• Stop using all recreational drugs and alcohol
• Manage stress
• Wait at least 6 months between delivery and the beginning of the next pregnancy
• Know the signs of premature labor

TAGS: Prematurity, March of Dimes, Preterm Birth, Prematurity Awareness Month, NICU