Posts Tagged ‘Risk factors’

A recent study conducted by the March of Dimes and BabyCenter, showed that health care providers are not talking to moms early enough about preterm birth. Only 1 in 4 women surveyed had received information about preterm labor before they reached their 2^nd trimester. Providers stated that they didn’t want the moms to have unnecessary fear and anxiety. At our Premature Infant Health Network meeting in July, we had a mother tell her story about when she delivered her extremely premature baby. No one had told her about the symptoms of preterm labor or that it was a possibility even in healthy pregnancies. I would imagine that she was experiencing more fear than if she had been informed beforehand. 

Knowing about the risks for preterm birth is important for all moms. Some risk factors should be managed before a woman becomes pregnant or early during her pregnancy. Some moms in the study were not told that having a previous premature birth would put them at risk for it to happen again. 

If you would like to learn more about preterm labor read our past blog posts Risks for Preterm Labor and Preterm Labor Can Happen to You .

Local pregnant women or moms who recently had a baby: when did your doctor or midwife talk to you about preterm labor?  How did learning about preterm labor make you feel?

Source: New Survey Reveals Communication about Preterm Birth is Too Little, Too Late

Tomorrow night (7/15/10), at 10pm, a new series begins on Discovery Health called NICU: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This series is a collaborative effort from Discovery Health, Farmers Insurance, and the March of Dimes. The series follows real families and their babies as they fight for survival and experience the rollercoaster of emotions that come with having a premature baby. The series shows the daily care that is needed in the NICU to keep the tiny babies alive and features doctors and nurses from leading hospitals in Baltimore, San Diego and Cleveland. For more information and show times, click on NICU.

After hearing local NICU stories today at our Premature Infant Health Network meeting, I have realized that these families go through so much. They need our support and understanding.

It is frightening to think that many premature babies are born to mothers who are healthy and have no risk factors. That’s why knowing the signs of pre-term labor are so important. Please refer to our past posts to learn more about pre-term labor: Preterm Labor Can Happen to You and Preterm Labor: Know Your Risks.

Do you have a preterm labor story? We’d like to hear from you.  

Source: Discovery Health