Prematurity and Care During Pregnancy

Scientists now say a third of infant deaths are due to premature birth. A much larger percentage than previously thought. In the past, preterm birth had been listed as the cause of death if you were the one out of five newborn fatalities, but that number could be actually more than one out of three. That’s because at least a dozen causes of newborn death are actually problems that go hand-in-hand with premature births. These are things like respiratory distress and that’s caused by underdeveloped lungs. It’s a very important issue and the revised statistic may lead to greater efforts to council pregnant women about taking care of themselves and avoiding actions that lead to pre-term births. We’re talking about things like smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol. My point here is this. It’s very important that someone get taken care of early in pregnancy. That early care can make a major difference in having a healthy baby and that’s something obviously everyone wants to achieve.