National Prematurity Month
Courtesy of Kathleen Ulrich
November is National Prematurity Awareness Month. This month is dedicated to raising awareness and educating people about babies that are born prematurely.
According to March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization that provides funding for research, education, and programs to support members of the community touched by premature births, “In the United States, about 380,000 babies are born prematurely each year.” On a more local scale, in the state of New York about 9.2% of babies are born prematurely as of 2019 according to the Centers for Disease Control.
In order to be classified as a premature baby, the infant has to be born before 37 weeks gestation. Currently, 24 weeks gestation is the earliest a baby is able to survive outside the womb but will still require major medical interventions, according to the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. Most babies born before 24 weeks tend to die due to underdeveloped vital organs.
Premature babies face many kinds of challenges that include but are not limited to breathing issues, temperature regulation problems, heart conditions, and gastrointestinal issues. When a baby is born prematurely, it should be expected that the baby will remain in the hospital until their due date, as stated by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The majority if not all of the time that the baby is in the hospital, the baby will be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or the NICU.
In the United States, there are some treatments that can be administered if a mother goes into preterm labor. According to the March of Dimes, antenatal corticosteroids can be administered—this class of drug helps accelerate the development of the babies lungs and help prevent certain health issues after birth. Some of the health issues that can be avoided include respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular hemorrhage, and necrotizing enterocolitis.
According to the CDC, there is an increased risk of preterm birth if you are pregnant with multiples, substance use, and maternal health issues, but you do not have to fall into any of these categories to experience a preterm birth.
This month has special meaning to me as I am a twin, and we were born prematurely. We spent many days in the NICU and were lucky enough to have had minimal health complications after birth. My mother was thankfully given antenatal corticosteroids, which allowed our lungs to develop enough allowing us to survive outside of the womb.
As mentioned before, March of Dimes is a nonprofit organization that funds programs to support and bring awareness to babies born prematurely. March of Dimes funds six Prematurity Research Centers that are devoted to preventing premature births and preventable mortalities of both mothers and babies. In order to continue funding these research opportunities, they rely on donations. To donate to March of Dimes, visit their website, marchofdimes.org.
If you or someone in your community has been affected by a premature birth, I encourage you to explore the support options offered through March of Dimes.
