The Battle Never Ends for Some Preemies
It seems so unfair. Babies born early fight an uphill battle just to stay alive, with many of them staying months in hospitals before being declared well enough to go home for the first time. Now it seems their problems may persist throughout their childhood and even have lingering effects into adulthood.
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, studied an extensive amount of data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway in an effort to track the long-term effects of having a preterm birth. A full-term pregnancy is 37 weeks. Babies born preterm, or premature, are often called preemies.
Premature births are the leading cause of infant death in the industrialized nations around the world. Sixty percent of the babies born at only 26 weeks into the pregnancy are faced with disabilities, as are 30% of the infants born during the 31st week of pregnancy.
The researchers, led by Geeta K. Swamy, MD, analyzed the data from 1,167,506 births occurring between the years 1967 and 1988. The survival rates of the infants were collected in 2002. For a subgroup of the births, those that occurred between 1967 and 1976, assessments were made for achievement in education and reproductive outcome in 2004.
Of the initial births, 5.2%, or 60,354, were premature. More boys were born premature (5.6%) than girls (4.7%), a ratio of male-to-female births that is consistent with that of all births.
The babies born prematurely faced higher mortality rates than full-term babies. Boys born between 22 and 27 weeks of pregnancy were 5.3 times more likely to die before the age of 6 (early childhood) and 7 times more likely before the age of 13 (late childhood). Girls born during the same stage of pregnancy were at 9.7 times higher risk of early death than their full-term counterparts but there were no deaths among the girls reported for later childhood.
Boys born between 28 and 32 weeks risked early childhood deaths 2.5 times higher than full-term boys and 2.3 times higher in late childhood. Girls born at this stage were found to have no significant increased risk for death during childhood.
In later life, reproduction issues became apparent for the preemies, too. Men born during the 22-to-27 week stage of pregnancy were 76% less likely to reproduce and the women were 67% less likely than their full-term counterparts. Men born during the 28-to-32 week stage were 30% less likely to have children and the women were 19% less likely. Women born prematurely were also found to be at increased risk of giving birth to preterm babies of their own. Men born prematurely did not face increased risk of premature offspring.
As more and more babies born prematurely do survive childhood and into adulthood, the researchers identify the need for further studies to determine if improved obstetric and neonatal care affects childhood survival rates, the ability to reproduce, and improved quality of life in general.
Full details of the study can be found in JAMA’s March 26 issue.
People should just get a clue, be a bit more humane and put preemie babies out of their misery instead of forcing them to endure the pain and discomfort of growing up without vital systems fully developed. Why would you in your infinite ignorance FORCE someone to go through life with a disability? Even Adolf Hitler was kind enough to remove the physically and mentally defunct from society, thus reducing the burden on society as a whole, and the individuals that suffered from the conditions. Even before that you can look to the Spartans, who “Cast aside” infants with birth defects and deformities. As barbaric as it may seem, think about what YOUR OWN life would be like if you had a defunct limb or other malformed body parts. Would you still have your friends? Would you have been more of a burden on everyone around you? Would you have been able to enjoy the quality of life you have? Would you want to have been forced to live and endure the pain?
Okay, that is just GROSS, Tyler.
To tyler: I respect your thoughts, but i feel that u or Hitler were nobody to decide upon what should be done to people who are different from u or me. People who are Physically or mentally defunct have the same rights as u n me. “casting aside” babies is cruel just because birth defects. I can understand by the way you think you havent had the absolute knowledge of being a parent but when you do you will understand many things. One of the things you will learn is to accept your child no matter their appearance. If you know you wont be able to put up with babies at all, then why not take care? My question to you is: What if u were deformed? would you have the friends you have know? I know i would probably wont have the same ones, but maybe others as well.
I want to see Tyler pulling the plug off the respirator , until the day that you are face with this decision you should keep this kind of stupid logic to yourself.
My child was born at 25 weeks and needed NICU care for ~2 months. She has no issues what so ever. If it was decided to end her life just because she was a preemie, I would not have my beautiful, more important, healthy 16 month old daughter. So STFU Tyler!
I am a perfectly healthy preemie. I am now 20 years old and go to a difficult university and function just fine. What’s worse than not getting a chance to live life?
I am a perfectly healthy preemie. I am now 20 also. I function just fine and am going to college for Nursing to specialize in Neo Nates or Preemies just like I was. I was born at 28 weeks and weighed 2lbs and 12oz. Im glad I was given the chance to live life. Arent you? We didnt choose to be born early infact nobody chooses how they look or anything about them. I had under developed lungs and was care flighted where I pulled the tubes out of my lungs and started breathing on my own. I had my head shaved and was in ICU for two months. Thanks mom and dad for allowing me to live my life.
are you that big of a jerk. my daughter was born at 32 weeks she spent a month in the NICU and she is now a healthy two month old. We cant imagine life without her and you know what be careful what you wish you just might become a part of the NICU family someday and have someone say stupid stuff like your doing about your child!!
in responce to Tyler on March 27th, 2008 11:38
i think your the one who needs to be put out of your misery. you have no idea what it means to be part of the human race nore do you even know what the hell you are talking about?
so in responce to you on behalf of all human life drop dead.
Thank you larry…and tyler….you’re an absolute IDIOT and jerk.a can’t believe someone would be so ignorant!….and im curious as to why you felt the need to throw hitler around in there…perhaps because you think like him?seems like it.good luck with that.and good luck having kids in your future.
i was born at 29 weeks i had my baby at 27 weeks old..she died last tuesday of enterococcus sepsis and renal failure..we are devestated..how can this happen ……..we are sad..so truth is a prem baby can have a prem baby..ps i was sent home with constipation..great…..next morning at 2.00 am i gave birth to a beautiful girl who suffered 3 infections renal failure and a brain hemmorage happy not but we had lovely 6 weeks with her we will never forget her xxxxx love you my little angel….
tyler my dear man, anyone using hitler as a reference point really needs a labotamy.My daughter gave birth to twin boys at 24 weeks had you been in charge i would not be watching them grow up now.As for making friends, pain and suffering don’t we all feel this at some point in our lives, killing people for this reason would mean there would be no one alive to have an opinion, even one as FUCKING STUPID AS YOURS.
Strange this post is totaly irrelevant to the search query I entered in google but it was listed on the first page. – Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. – Benjamin Franklin 1706 – 1790