Prevent premature birth


Nine months of a healthy pregnancy is the best gift you can give your future baby. More and more babies are born too early and those who survive may have serious health problems.

Medical experts often don't know why premature birth happens. We do know there are things you can do, before you get pregnant, to help give your baby a better chance of a healthy and full-term birth.

Plan your pregnancy and see a doctor or nurse before and during pregnancy to talk about the following topics.

Nine questions to ask your healthcare provider

  1. How can diabetes, high blood pressure, infections or other conditions affect my pregnancy?
  2. How can certain medications (prescription, over-the-counter, or home remedies) affect my pregnancy?
  3. How does taking a multivitamin with folic acid daily, especially before pregnancy, help me have a healthy baby?
  4. What is my ideal weight?
  5. How can I stay away from cigarettes, alcohol and illegal drugs?
  6. How can I manage the stress in my life?
  7. How long should I wait between my pregnancies? (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that it's best to wait at least 18 months before getting pregnant again.)
  8. What if premature birth runs in my family?
  9. What are the signs of premature labor and what should I do?

Courtesy of the March of Dimes

 

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Encouragement + An Assist = Success

Nine days past her due date, Sara Howe was awakened at 3:00AM when her water broke. Thrilled that the long wait was finally over, Sara and her husband David packed up and headed to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. By 5:00AM they were comfortably settled into one of PeaceHealth Southwest’s Labor Delivery Recovery and Postpartum rooms, ready for action. But four hours later, Sara contractions had still not progressed so her midwife started her on Pitocin. Soon the contractions kicked in and Sara was well on her way.

At around eight o’clock the next morning, it was time for Sara to start pushing. So she pushed. And she pushed, and she pushed, and she pushed. "The first few hours of pushing went by without me realizing the time," remarked Sara. "But around the fourth hour I started to wonder if I was still making progress. That is when the encouragement of my midwife, husband and the PeaceHealth Southwest nursing staff kept me going. It was like I had my own cheering section."

Unfortunately, even with all the support and encouragement, Sara’s labor was not progressing because her baby’s head was tilted in the birth canal. Neither Sara or her midwife wanted her to have a Cesarean section after all that work, so her midwife suggested an assisted delivery. Read more >

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