Premature Births May Lead to More Problems in Maturity
According to recent studies done by both Duke and Norwegian researchers, there seems to be more health risks to babies born premature than originally thought. In most cases, the health risks of premature newborns seem to be thought of as short term problems. Although the immediate health of the newborn is the most crucial, recent studies show that there may be more health problems that occur later in life for those who were born premature compared to those who were carried to full term.
The studies were carried out over several years and included over a million men and women. The results of these studies show that those who were born premature faced several issues later in life. Some of these issues include lower reproduction rates, lower educational achievement, and a higher risk of having children of their own born premature. According to Geeta Swamy, MD, of Duke, the earlier the child is born, the more complications the child is likely to face throughout the course of their life. More in depth results of this 20 year-long study showed several more interesting points. Some of these include: boys being born between 22-37 weeks had the highest rate of early childhood death, the lower the age of birth, the higher the risk of less education, and women who were born preterm were more likely to also have preterm children.
Due to advances in medicine, the rate of surviving premature births is increasing. While this is good, it is also leading to more premature births due to the correlation between having a premature child if you yourself were born premature. It is important for those who are born premature to notify their physicians so that conditions can be identified that arise due to being born too early. The same goes when deciding to have children. It is important to notify doctors if you are born premature so that they can improve your care to ensure that you carry your child as far along as possible.
It seems that with every medical advance, it had its’ setbacks. In many cases, such as this, the good seems to outweigh the bad. As long as people are aware of their premature status and inform their physicians, most will be able to carry out a relatively normal life.
Posted by: Meaghan Elliott
posted by PWH @ 9:05 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
This is a very interesting topic and I'm curious if you could provide a link to the study so that I can read it and get more information. Do you know how they tracked the study? I know at least three people who were born at least 4 weeks premature who are incredibly intelligent. As someone dating a boy who was significantly premature, I'd also like to know if they found a correlation between premie boys fathering premature babies.
Posted by: Sarah Kaz
I saw this on the news the other day. I didn't see the entire story. Did they say premature babies are more likely to develop illnesses when they are older, like cancer? I thought I heard their immune system was weaker than an average child in early childhood. Did you read anything about when they were teens or adults (did their immune system get stronger or more like an average adult)? Its interesting just how many factors play into your lifelong health. Good post.
Posted by: Christine McConville
This is a very interesting post, although the information doesn't really surprise me. It makes sense to me that if the baby doesn't develop properly inside the womb it would have problems later in life. It does make me wonder, however, what can be done for premature-birthed prospective mothers to help ensure a healthy birth for their child. Hopefully with time we can discover some new ways to do this.
Posted by Ben Tummino
This comment has been removed by the author.
This study makes a lot of sense. Premature newborns experience a great deal of stress when they are born and fight to survive. It serves to reason that the stress put on their body is reflected later on in life. I wonder if there are any other correlations to other problems such as cardiac or respiratory later on in life for newborns?
-Scott Lee
this is really interesting topic i would like know how they come up with that theory or can you give me the link so i can read it.
Posted by rafael leon
This topic is interesting i had no idea that premature births could cause long term effects. I think it was be better if u could find an actually subject to give an example. If not this is still a good article and fascinating topic.
-John Reilly
This is a great study, a good friend just had a premie but the baby seems fine now. Hopefully there are no negative implications along the way.
Posted by: Jennifer McGrath
I haven't given too much thought why people who were born prematurely gave birth to the same kind, but it is something that i think about once in a while. I have met a few people in this condition and specifically she had reproduction complications, she had tried concieve for almost 8 years. Finally it happened. but even though she carried the baby in good health, the baby was born premature, she was just a little over 2 pounds.
Am wondering if this is genetic or something else and if there can be a way to correct the problem so that the chances of giving birth to a premature baby are greatly reduced.
Posted by: Mustapher Lubega
Did the study mention anything about early effects of premature birth? My little cousin was born very premature, and had to be hospitalized for almost a month to keep him alive. He is now in elementary school, playing all kinds of sports, growing tall, and getting all A's. I'd certainly like to believe that this trend will continue for him as he grows to be an adult, but this study makes me think that he and people like him should be monitored more closely by physicians as they age.
-Nate Pitcher
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