Archive for the ‘cause’ Category
Prematurity Awareness Month
November is Prematurity Awareness Month and we’d like to dedicate this article to all the moms of babies who entered the world too soon.
Premature births haves been steadily increasing over the past twenty years. Preterm delivery can happen to any woman, regardless of how hard she tries to do everything right for her baby. In 2006, nearly 543,000 infants were born prematurely. And in 40% of the cases, the cause of pre-term delivery isn’t known.
Complications of premature birth may include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Episodes of stopped breathing (apnea)
- Bleeding in the brain (intracranial hemorrhage)
- Fluid accumulation in the brain (hydrocephalus)
- Cerebral palsy and other neurological problems
- Vision problems
- Intestinal problems
- Developmental delays
- Learning disabilities
Less serious complications may include:
- Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
- Lack of red blood cells (anemia)
- Low blood pressure
The March of Dimes would like to reduce the rates of preterm deliveries and help families have healthier babies. The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign is a research, awareness and education effort that seeks to:
- Fund research to find the causes of premature birth
- Encourage investment of public and private research dollars to identify causes and to identify and test promising interventions
- Educate women about risk-reduction strategies and the signs and symptoms of premature labor
- Provides information and emotional support to families affected by prematurity
- Advocate to expand access to health care coverage to improve maternity care and infant health outcomes
- Help health care providers to improve risk detection and address risk factors
- Generate concern and action around the problem
Maura Maros, a KidDilly member, is deeply involved in this cause, and tells us, “There are events you can get involved in locally. The March of Dimes does their annual walk every April and their Signature Chef’s Auction in September. This year’s auction brought in $25,000!”
To learn how you can help, please visit: https://www.marchofdimes.com/howtohelp/654.asp
Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/premature-birth/DS00137/DSECTION=complications
