Shedding Light on Preterm Births
Cleveland Cavaliers player J.R. Smith III and his wife, Jewel Harris, recently revealed their baby, Dakota, was born prematurely. She was five months “early” and weighed only about one pound. “We know we’re not the only family going through this, who has been through this or who will ever go through it. That’s why we decided to share what we’re going through with you guys,” said Jewel Harris. Since the story came out, there have been a lot of questions about preterm birth and whether this type of situation can result from medical negligence.
The answer, of course, is complicated. The details about what specifically happened in the case of Dakota’s birth are unknown; however, preterm birth is a serious problem …show more content…
Such disabilities include developmental delay, vision problems or cerebral palsy.
Risk factors for preterm birth
Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict which pregnancies will result in early labor and preterm birth. There are, however, some risk factors that seem to be associated with preterm birth. These include having a previous preterm birth, having a short cervix, a short interval between pregnancies, multiple simultaneous gestations, and some “lifestyle factors” such as smoking or substance abuse during pregnancy. What can be done to stop or slow down the birthing process?
Once a woman goes into labor prematurely, not much can be done to stop a preterm birth. Steroid medications can be used to try to accelerate the maturation of the baby’s lungs. Other medications called “tocolytics” may be used to try to delay delivery (by up to about 48 hours) in order to give the baby a bit more time to develop and to give the steroids an opportunity to work. Magnesium sulfate can also be given to a pregnant woman who is at risk of delivering prematurely within seven days, though usually this is not done before 24 weeks of gestation. Magnesium sulfate is thought to help provide neuroprotection for the baby, reducing the risk that the premature infant will later develop cerebral
Cleveland Cavaliers player J.R. Smith III and his wife, Jewel Harris, recently revealed their baby, Dakota, was born prematurely. She was five months “early” and weighed only about one pound. “We know we’re not the only family going through this, who has been through this or who will ever go through it. That’s why we decided to share what we’re going through with you guys,” said Jewel Harris. Since the story came out, there have been a lot of questions about preterm birth and whether this type of situation can result from medical negligence.
The answer, of course, is complicated. The details about what specifically happened in the case of Dakota’s birth are unknown; however, preterm birth is a serious problem …show more content…
Such disabilities include developmental delay, vision problems or cerebral palsy.
Risk factors for preterm birth
Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict which pregnancies will result in early labor and preterm birth. There are, however, some risk factors that seem to be associated with preterm birth. These include having a previous preterm birth, having a short cervix, a short interval between pregnancies, multiple simultaneous gestations, and some “lifestyle factors” such as smoking or substance abuse during pregnancy. What can be done to stop or slow down the birthing process?
Once a woman goes into labor prematurely, not much can be done to stop a preterm birth. Steroid medications can be used to try to accelerate the maturation of the baby’s lungs. Other medications called “tocolytics” may be used to try to delay delivery (by up to about 48 hours) in order to give the baby a bit more time to develop and to give the steroids an opportunity to work. Magnesium sulfate can also be given to a pregnant woman who is at risk of delivering prematurely within seven days, though usually this is not done before 24 weeks of gestation. Magnesium sulfate is thought to help provide neuroprotection for the baby, reducing the risk that the premature infant will later develop cerebral