Today is World Prematurity Day – a day when there is focus on the global issue of premature birth.
Source: March of Dimes
About World Prematurity Day
What if one day millions of people around the world joined together to show how much they care about protecting the health of babies? That’s the idea behind World Prematurity Day.
I have shared my premature baby’s story and the care my doctors took to ensure that my following births did not follow suit.
On November 17, join others in creating a surge of awareness around the critical problem of premature birth. Dozens of organizations around the world are working to improve the health of babies in their countries.
Risk Factors and Causes of Premature Births
Premature or pre-term birth is medically defined as a baby being born earlier than 37 weeks of pregnancy. Many causes of pre-term birth are unknown and unexplained. However, there are many risk factors that increase the chances of babies being born early:
- Previous premature birth
- Smoking
- Short period between pregnancies (less than 6-9 months)
- Carrying multiples (twins, triplets, etc)
- Recurring infections affecting the vagina, kidneys, bladder and urinary tract
- Chronic illnesses:High blood pressure, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease (IBS), kidney disease or lupus.
- Mother’s age: Younger than 18 or older than 40 years.
- Heredity
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