YKHC Messenger 1108 Word from WIC

Prematurity Awareness Month

By Melanie Huett, MS, RD, LD, WIC RD Nutrition Educator

The March of Dimes has named November "Prematurity Awareness Month." Premature birth is when a baby is born too early, before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Prematurity is an increasingly common and serious public health problem and is the leading cause of death in the first month of life.

The cause of preterm birth is unknown in about 40 percent of premature births. Research indicates that preterm births are likely due to multiple risk factors, including lifestyle, environmental, and medical risk factors. Having a risk factor does not mean a woman will have preterm labor or birth.

Three groups of women have a greater risk of preterm labor and birth:

• Women who have had a previous preterm birth
• Women who are pregnant with more than one baby
• Women with certain uterine or cervical abnormalities

Lifestyle and environmental Risks:

• Late or no prenatal care
• Smoking
• Drinking Alcohol
• Illegal drug use
• Domestic violence, including physical, sexual or emotional abuse
• Very high levels of stress
• Working extended hours with long periods of standing

Medical Risks:

• Infections
• Diabetes mellitus
• High blood pressure
• Being underweight before pregnancy
• Obesity
• Closely spaced pregnancies
• Women younger than 17 or older than 35

Babies who survive an early birth may encounter several lifelong health problems, including learning disabilities, blindness, hearing loss, cerebral palsy, and other chronic conditions, such as asthma. Even infants born just a few weeks too soon have a greater risk of developing respiratory distress syndrome (RDS); feeding difficulties; temperature instability (hypothermia); jaundice, a common condition in newborns in which the skin and whites of the eyes are yellow in color; delayed brain development and death. Nine months of a healthy pregnancy is the greatest gift a woman can give her baby. Women of childbearing age can take steps before and during pregnancy to help improve birth outcomes.

Helpful hints for a healthy pregnancy:

• Get regular prenatal care
• Take a prenatal vitamin that contains folic acid every day
• Avoid alcohol, tobacco and drugs
• Avoid uncooked meats, fish containing mercury, and unpasteurized dairy products
• Eat balanced, nutritious meals everyday
• Get to a healthy weight before pregnancy
• Manage stress in one's life
• Exercise moderately
• Maintain healthy teeth and gums
• Recognize the warning signs of preterm labor

Warning signs of Preterm labor:

• Contractions (abdomen squeezes like a fist) every 10 minutes or more often
• Change in vaginal discharge (leaking fluid or bleeding from vagina)
• Pelvic pressure, or the feeling that baby is pushing down
• Low, dull backache
• Cramps that feel like a period
• Abdominal cramps with or without diarrhea

In the United States, more than half a million babies are born prematurely each year, a 20 percent increase since 1990. In Alaska, the rate of infants born prematurely increased more than 32 percent from 1995 to 2005. The state average for preterm birth is 10.6 percent. The rate of preterm births in Alaska is highest for black infants followed by Native Americans and Alaska Natives. The YK Delta has the highest rate of preterm births in Alaska at 15 percent of live births. Healthy People 2010, a national health promotion and disease prevention initiative, has a goal to reduce preterm births to no more than 7.6 percent of live births. Hopefully, with increased awareness, premature birth rates will decline.

Source: March of Dimes