It is a well-known fact that most newborns are born prematurely.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 50% of babies are born preterm.
However, the true percentage of preterm babies is much higher.
According the National Institutes of Health, preterm births are often a result of maternal factors.
For example, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development reports that one in four pregnancies in the United States are unplanned.
It is estimated that around 1 in 5 pregnancies will be unplanned due to maternal factors, including: maternal age, marital status, race/ethnicity, and number of children.
As a result, there are a large number of women and families who are not fully aware of the risks associated with premature births.
Many of these women and children may be forced to spend hours in the neonatal intensive care unit or intensive care ward or even lose a newborn in a hospital setting.
Even the baby that survives in the NICU can be in danger of suffering severe and irreversible brain damage, permanent disability, or death.
The importance of being aware of your baby’s health is particularly important when your child is a newborn.
Preterm babies can also be diagnosed with a variety of medical conditions.
These include: congenital heart disease, which is the most common cause of death in preterm infants; fetal alcohol syndrome, a condition where the baby is born with a congenital disorder such as congenital muscular dystrophy; or Down syndrome, an abnormality that occurs when a person has a chromosomal disorder or a genetic abnormality.
In addition, infants born preemies are at greater risk for preterm birth complications including: premature delivery, which can result in a low birth weight and a low preterm delivery rate; preterm labor, which results in an abnormal amount of labor in the first trimester, resulting in a prolonged labor, and a longer duration of labor; and, labor complications, which include preeclampsia, low-grade fever, and hypovolemia.
It may also be important to note that preterm deliveries can result from multiple factors, such as: the presence of preeclampias, or a condition that makes it harder to deliver a baby by cervical compression; and premature rupture of membranes, or bleeding between membranes, which leads to preterm rupture of the membranes.
In the United Kingdom, preemie babies born to mothers who are older and have more experienced health care professionals are more likely to be delivered preterm at a much higher rate.
Preemie preemies may also face other challenges.
The United States has seen an increase in the incidence of preemies during the last several decades.
Preemies are much more likely than non-preemies to suffer from congenital anomalies such as Down syndrome and preterm breech presentation.
For some, the complications of preemies can include: birth defects or birth defects due to the premature rupture or rupture of a placenta, and severe birth defects such as microcephaly, cerebral palsy, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia; or severe congenital malformations, including spinal cord malformity, neural tube defects, cerebral abscess, and malformative disorders.
For other types of preneoplastic conditions, such the birth defects caused by gestational diabetes, it is important to know the risk of these complications and what you can do to reduce the risks.
If you are considering prenatal care, it may be worth checking out the information in the above sections, to see if your health care provider has any questions.