Preventing Premature Delivery

One in eight American babies is now born prematurely. While the odds of survival for babies born even as early as 23 weeks gestation are improving, the risks of cerebal palsy, learning disablities, mental retardation and other health problems later in life remain. Why are so many women delivering early? Multiple births (twins, triplets, and more) are the single biggest cause due to IVF treatments in which more than one embryo was implanted in the mother’s uterus. Other causes are thought to include poor maternal diet, smoking, and giving birth for the first time after the age of 35.

But, so little about premature birth is understood, that women can do everything right and still face an early delivery.

According to an article in the Globe and Mail, the Institute of Medicine, a US org dedicated to reviewing health issues, has issued the following guidelines to help lower the rate of (and prevent) premature delivery.

• Specialists should strengthen and FOLLOW guidelines that reduce the number of multiple births as a result of infertility treatments. Sixty-two per cent of twins conceived through IVF were born prematurely. So were 97 per cent of other multiples. That means implanting few embryos during each treatment.
• More pregnant women should have a first-trimester ultrasound exam to be certain of the fetus’ exact age. With one in five women having induced labour, it is possible that some are being induced prematurely, because both mother and doctor thought the pregnancy was more advanced than it really was.
• Increase research into the causes of premature delivery and how to prevent it.