LET'S TALK ABOUT PREMATURE BIRTH
1:10
Babies Are Born Premature In the United States of America
15M
Babies In The World Are Born Premature Each Year
1M
Babies Born Premature Die Due to Preterm Complications Each Year
The Premature Birth Issue
In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of hospitals located around the world, Premature Birth is defined as when a baby is born too early, before their mother has reached 37 weeks of pregnancy. During pregnancy, babies reach important internal growth stages that allow them to develop into healthy infants after they are born.
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The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine have recategorized pregnancy into gestational age designations.
- Early: 37 Weeks to 38 Weeks
-Full: 39 Weeks to 40 Weeks
-Late: 41 Weeks to 41 Weeks.
-Post: 42 Weeks +.
Within the final weeks of a full term pregnancy, the lung, liver, and brains of babies are developed fully with the support of their mother’s bodily systems in pregnancy. Without these last vital weeks of pregnancy (37-40 weeks), babies born premature (preemies) may experience not only an extremely low birth weight but also deal with many problems for most, if not all, of their lives depending on just how early they were born.
Although research in developing scientific advancements to help sustain premature baby lives in the NICU of hospitals in America have increased since (March of Dimes), awareness and support of premature baby parents and families from the general public standpoint have continued to be strikingly insufficient. As they anxiously await the release of their baby from the NICU, parents may be scrambling to prepare for the return of their preemie home alongside their worry over the well-being of their preemie.
Moreover, preemie needs are especially hard to find in the baby market because of just how uneducated the general public is on premature needs. Many times, preemies will continue to need extra support and attention from their parents throughout their lives, resulting in many requiring the assistance of a health professional in the future. Thus, without widespread knowledge of premature birth, support systems through which premature families can continue to stay connected with one another after their preemies leave the NICU, and donations from the general public to families stressfully awaiting the release of their preemies from the NICU, many preemie parents and families end up feeling alone and isolated as they leave the NICU.
MEET CORA & HER PARENTS
DID YOU KNOW??
1.
15 million / 135 million babies are born premature worldwide each year.
3.
Premature birth complications are the number one cause of infants deaths under the age of 5.
5.
Premature birth rate ranges from 5-18% in countries.
7.
Inequalities in survival rates of premature birth depends on socioeconomic backgrounds in most places within the world.
9.
Lifestyle patterns (healthy and nutritious) can help to prevent premature birth.
11.
There is a higher risk of premature birth from women under the age of 17 or above the age of 35.
13.
November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Purple is the ribbon color that represents premature birth awareness.
2.
Napoleon Bonaparte, French military leader, was born prematurely.
4.
Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserable, was born prematurely.
6.
Mark Twain, author of Huckleberry Finn and the Adventures of Tom Sawyer, was born prematurely.
8.
Winston Churchill, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was born prematurely.
10.
Anna Pavlova, famous ballerina, was born prematurely.
12.
Stevie Wonder, acclaimed American singer, was born prematurely.
14
Charles Darwin, influential English scientist, was born prematurely.