Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
the impact of low birth weight babies
low birth weight consequences
the impact of low birth weight babies
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: the impact of low birth weight babies
Poor child births outcome cause greater mortality risks, and higher odds of poor future health. This paper will study the statistical data regarding the suggested number of prenatal case visits as considered in healthy birth outcomes. It is estimated that every year almost 4 million U.S. women give birth, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and that nearly one-third of them will experience some type of pregnancy related problems. This is primarily relevant in the U.S., which has one of the highest infant mortality rates among 18 developed nations. The lack of prenatal care for women who are unable to financially afford it, or don’t see the need of it, is mainly to blame for the thousands of low birthweight babies born in the U.S. every year.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [Office on Women’s Health] (2009), “Babies of mothers who do not get prenatal care are three times more likely to have a low birthweight and five times more likely to die than those born to mothers who do get care” (p. 1). Prenatal care in the U.S. began as a preventive measure against preeclampsia, which at the time included program visits by physicians who conducted physicals, history, and risk assessments. Over the years, prenatal care has changed its focus to low birthweight and other preventive illnesses in an attempt to reduce the rate of infant mortality. Increased use of prenatal care has shown a decline in the rates of birthweight-related mortality and other preventable medical diseases such as post-partum depression and infant injuries.
For many Americans, prenatal care is a fairly simple process. You visit your doctor. He takes a urine sample, your weight and measu...
... middle of paper ...
...rition for their newborn, the benefits of breastfeeding and prevention on injuries and illnesses, monitoring for health compromising conditions, as well as help them prepare for the new emotional challenges of caring for an infant.
Prenatal care is an important part of a mother and baby’s health. It is important that a pregnant woman seek the recommended amount of prenatal care, whether she is having her first child or third. Pregnancy is one of the most key issues that a woman will deal with in her life and it is very important that it is dealt with in the proper manner.
A few key issues why prenatal care is important for women are:
* to learn about healthy behaviors during pregnancy.
* to monitor maternal and fetal well-being throughout the pregnancy
* to detect early signs of potential complications
* to provide anticipatory guidance to the woman and family
The Healthy Start Border Alliance is an example of a program which tries to increase the number of pregnant women who receive prenatal care during the first trimester. The program consists of five Healthy Start projects all along the U.S.-Mexican border with the purpose of reducing infant mortality and low birth-weight and improving health and outcome disparities. Currently, the programs are performing surveys of Hispanic women childbearing age, inquiring into the reason for not obtaining early prenatal. The results have indicated that the main reason for not receiving an adequate prenatal care is that pregnancy was unintentional.
Two-thirds of infants die during the first month of life due to low birth weight (Lia-Hoagberg et al, 1990). One reason for this outcome is primarily due to difficulties in accessing prenatal care. Prenatal health care encompasses the health of women in both pre and post childbearing years and provides the support for a healthy lifestyle for the mother and fetus and/or infant. This form of care plays an important role in the prevention of poor birth outcomes, such as prematurity, low birth weight and infant mortality, where education, risk assessment, treatment of complications, and monitoring of fetus development are vital (McKenzie, Pinger,& Kotecki, 2012). Although every woman is recommended to receive prenatal health care, low-income and disadvantaged minority women do not seek care due to structural and individual barriers.
Finding a practitioner to care for you during your pregnancy and the birth of your child is a very important task. Most people go to their family doctor. Unless your pregnancy is high risk that may not be necessary. Midwives offer care that is “lower-tech, less invasive, and less inclined toward intervention without a clear medical need.” says Jamie Cruz, author of “Call the Midwife”. Many women are uneducated on the benefits to selecting care from a midwife. Many times when expecting mothers discuss their options with their family doctor, the discussion of midwives is often avoided or the doctor will discourage the expecting mother from choosing a midwife. Midwives and doctors should work as a team and embrace each other, however due to
Every eight seconds a baby is born in the United Sates (U.S.), and within one hour four babies die (1). The infant mortality rate (IMR) measures the rate at which babies die before their first birthday and is calculated per 1,000 live births. According to government figures 7.2 babies out of every 1,000 born in 1996 died (2, p 6). Although this figure declines steadily each year and is 406% lower than the 1950 figure (3) the United States IMR is still higher than twenty four other nations (1). More importantly, the IMR for black U.S. citizens is over twice the rate of white citizens (6.3 and 14.6 respectively) (4, p 9). The National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality even calls some regions "disaster areas" (5, p 18). What are the leading causes of infant death, and what areas within the United States are most affected? What preventative measures can ensure a child its first birthday? These questions are addressed herein. In addition, certain National Standards for Geography are met.
According to the CDC, “In 2012, preterm birth affected more than 450,000 babies—that's 1 of every 9 infants born in the United States. Preterm-related causes of death together accounted for 35% of all infant deaths in 2010, more than any other single cause. Preterm birth is also a leading cause of long-term neurological disabilities in children. Preterm birth costs the U.S. health care system more than $26 billion in 2005” (Preterm Birth, 2014). These statistics are alarming, but with the proper prenatal care and education, premature birth rates can be reduced. The student nurse’s health promotion project focused on educating women and their families about proper prenatal care. According to the journal “Prevention of Premature Birth: Do Pediatricians Have a Role?” there are many secondary and tertiary preventions related to premature birth. Some secondary preventions are utilized scoring systems for identifying high-risk factors, bed rest, decreased strenuous physical activity and stress, smoking cessation programs, and nutritional supplementation programs. Tertiary prevention is directed at stopping the progress of labor with tocolytic drugs while enhancing lung maturation with steroids, and to also treat premature rupture of membranes and premature labor with antibiotics. Prenatal education is the primary prevention to help decrease the risk for birth
The disparities may be attributed to the amount of prenatal care that pregnant women of different ethnicities receive. In 1996, 81.8% of all women in the nation received prenatal care in the first trimester--the m...
This underserved community has many problems such as preterm birth, teen pregnancy, low use of breastfeeding, and high rate of maternal mortality. Preterm birth is highly prevalent in the community, with 15.5% higher than the Healthy People goal of 11.4%. In addition, teen pregnancy is another concern in the community with being the highest in the Queens, New York City and New York State rate. Queens also has the lowest level of breastfeeding compare to other areas in the New York City. Maternal mortality is three times higher in African American in the NYC area than those of other races. This program focuses on reducing these health disparities and improves the health of those
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every eight babies each year in the United States is born premature. This affects approximately 500,000 babies yearly. Premature babies are defined as babies born more than three weeks before the baby’s due date. Full term babies are born at approximately forty weeks, and premature babies are born at less than thirty-seven weeks. In the final months and weeks of pregnancy, important growth and development occur in the fetus. This is why premature babies are considered to be at-risk for a number of issues. The earlier that a baby is born, the baby’s risks drastically increase for developmental issues.
In American culture during the first 8 months of pregnancy the woman will have monthly scheduled prenatal visits. At the beginning of the 8th month she will have biweekly prenatal visits. During the 38th week she will transition into weekly prenatal visits until the baby is born. If the patient has a high risk pregnancy her prenatal visits may occur more frequently. The frequency of high risk prenatal visits will depend on the provider and the complication associated with the pregnancy. During high risk prenatal visits the patient will generally have more specialized test to monitor her health as well as t...
Statistics show the impact that preemies are causing as the rate of preterm birth increases every day. Any part of the world is affected no matter how advanced they are in technology. “One of every eight infants born in the United States is premature babies” (Medline Plus). These statistics are extremely high, however people can change it by getting involved in the community and helping preemies have a less chance to lose in their battle for life. In 2003; 499,008 infants were born prematurely (National Center for Health Statistics). The rates of preterm births have increased over the years. "In 1995: 11.0% of live births were born preterm, In 2006: 12.8% of live births were born preterm"(March of Dimes-Peristats). As the numbers keep increasing, many families are suffering and losing hope for they’re babies. African American women have the highest rate of preterm birth in 2004 with a 17.6% (Reedy, 2007). These statistics demonstrate the high frequenc...
The United States uses nearly $9,000 per capita on healthcare expenditures, which is significantly more than all other countries. Why do we spend so much more when our quality doesn’t even compete? Several medical examinations and procedures performed on patients are completely unnecessary. For example, some women have a specific date to which they would like to give birth, so they will request an early elective delivery. An early elective delivery is labor that is induced between 37 and 39 weeks of pregnancy, and is also induced without any legitimate medical need. These types of deliveries cause a lot of infants to be admitted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). These incidents could be completely avoided if physicians would keep woman from requesting premature labor.
Prenatal care includes the treatment and care before birth to prevent health problems for both the mother and child in the future. Without health insurance, the average cost of prenatal care is about $2,000 (in-text citation). However, this isn’t their only dilemma, without insurance coverage, women will need to pay for not only prenatal care, but also maternity care, hospital delivery, hospital stay, post-partum healthcare, check-ups, and much more. Prenatal care is only a fraction of what their total bill will come out as. After the repeal and replace of Obamacare, the medical costs for pregnancy care before, during, and after may severely increase for women being considered as a pre-existing
Preterm birth is defined as ‘any neonate whose birth occurs before the thirty seventh week of gestation’1 and represents approximately eight percent of all pregnancies1-4. It is eminent that these preterm infants are at risk of physical and neurological delay, with prolonged hospitalisation and an increased risk of long-term morbidity evident in prior literature3, 5-13. Innovative healthcare over the past thirty years has reduced mortality significantly14, with the survival rate of preterm infants having increased from twenty five percent in 1980 to seventy three percent in 200715. Despite, this drop in mortality long-term morbidity continues to remain within these surviving infants sparking a cause for concern15, 16.
All mothers, especially first time mothers need help moral support and advice during the first few days after their delivery to ensure proper care of their newborn. The care and help given to first time mothers is of utmost important during this period as to maintain the normality in their babies as well as to prevent any further complications. Typically all pregnant women are counseled during their antenatal period on how to prepare themselves mentally on the care of their babies after birth. Upon delivery, majority of the mothers would stay for a short period in the hospital. During this short stay, they would need time to recuperate, need to know what care to give their baby and how to carry out the care and also learn what to do if their baby is feeling unwell. Thus it is important for health care providers to assist first time mothers be it at the hospital or at home since it is a crucial period for them and they often requires more help and moral support especially when it comes to the proper care of their newborn. ("Routine care of a newborn baby")
A lot of pregnancies have led to maternal mortality and maternal morbidity. This area of concern is often situated with MFM subspecialists, in order to reduce the rate of maternal mortality and maternal morbidity (Haywood, B., 2012). The Society for Maternal-fetal Medicine also strives to improve maternal and child birth outcomes by standards of prevention, diagnosis and treatment through research, education and training. (Schubert, K. & Cavarocchi, N., 2012) In order for MFM subspecialists to help reduce the rate of maternal deaths, they must receive adequate training and education, including research, which is very essential for treatment. The main focus of the MFM subspecialist is early diagnosis of fetal abnormalities, pathogenesis, and early diagnosis and treatment of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction. In ...