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Premature Birth

Snowbaby

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Most babies are born about 40 weeks after the first day of their mother's last menstrual period. But about one in 10 babies arrive sooner. A baby born more than three weeks before his or her due date is considered to have had a premature birth.

Premature birth means babies have less time to fully develop and mature in the womb. As a result, they're often at increased risk of medical and developmental problems. One of the biggest problems of premature birth is underdeveloped lungs.

Your doctor may try to delay your baby's birth if you go into labor earlier than around 34 weeks into your pregnancy (preterm labor). Even a few extra days in the womb can give your baby's lungs a chance to become more mature. But sometimes, in spite of every effort, a premature birth may occur.

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Some women who go into premature labor do so for unknown reasons. Other women may have a medical condition that contributes to early labor. These conditions may include:

  • * A rupture of your amniotic sac. Normally, this fluid-filled membrane that surrounds your baby ruptures during labor or just before labor begins. But sometimes the sac may rupture weeks or even months before your due date, for no apparent reason. In that case, there's a high risk that your labor will begin within a few days. You and your baby are also at increased risk of infection.
    * Certain infections. These include infections of your uterus, cervix or urinary tract.
    * Weak cervix. Your cervix may be weak and open (dilate) without contractions (incompetent cervix). In a normal pregnancy, your cervix dilates in response to uterine contractions. But if your cervix is weak, it may open just from the pressure on your uterus caused by your progressing pregnancy. The cervix may have been weakened by a previous pregnancy or during a previous surgery involving the cervix, such as a dilation and curettage (D and C) or a cone biopsy. Other factors that may weaken your cervix include carrying more than one fetus or having too much amniotic fluid (hydramnios).
    * Certain chronic diseases. These include high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease and hypothyroidism.
    * Uterine abnormalities. These include an abnormally shaped uterus or a benign tumor (fibroid) of the uterus.
    * A previous premature delivery. Women who have had a premature delivery are at higher risk of going into premature labor again. For many women, though, early labor happens only once.
    * Substance abuse. These include smoking, alcohol use, or misuse of other drugs.
    * Malnutrition. Women who are undernourished or anemic are more likely to give birth prematurely.
    * Other conditions. A fetus with congenital defects or production of an overabundance of amniotic fluid also can contribute to early labor.
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