Curb risks of premature birth

Some expectant mothers, or women attempting to conceive, strictly follow their physician's or caregiver's advice and still have problem pregnancies leading to premature births. Prematurity, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study has concluded, is the leading cause of infant death.

Still others take unnecessary risks that could result in preterm labor. They may be underweight or overweight. They may have done a poor job of managing chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure. They may be smokers, drinkers or use illegal drugs. Some may be behind on recommended immunizations or do not take multi-vitamins with folic acid on a daily basis, which can help prevent neural tube defects.

Once a woman becomes pregnant, she needs early and regular prenatal care, which will enable caregivers to diagnose and treat conditions that can lead to preterm labor. She also needs to eat a nutrient-rich diet and get regular exercise.

In short, expectant women or women attempting to become pregnant need to attend to their own health to ensure their babies get the best possible start in life by achieving full-term pregnancies.

Utah fares better than the national average with respect to its rate of preterm births. Nationally, 1 in 8 births is considered preterm. In Utah, it's 1 in 10. However, in an average week 100 babies are born before 37 weeks of gestation. Among them, 13 are born before 32 weeks.

Prematurity kills infants about twice as often as had been thought. Previously, the leading cause of death among infants was believed to be birth defects. This new study emphasized the absolute necessity of taking steps to prevent premature births, which can have tragic consequences for babies born too soon or, in the case of some survivors, lifelong consequences. Advances in modern medicine have improved the odds of survival. Even so, the CDC research says extremely early babies, born before 32 weeks gestation, have a very high rate of death before age 1. Two-thirds of them die within the first 24 hours after birth.

There are, obviously, no guarantees that every pregnancy will result in the desired outcome — a healthy infant carried to term. But expectant mothers, or women trying to become pregnant, need to respect their bodies, the lives of their unborn children and do the things known to decrease the risks of giving birth too soon.