Risk Factors For Preterm Labor – Preterm labor is a labor that occurs before 37 weeks gestation (between 20-37 weeks). Babies born have a higher risk of death, risk of disease, long-term motor disabilities, cognitive, visual, auditory, attitudes, social emotions, health, and growth problems when compared to normal infants.
Preterm labor contributes to 65% of neonatal deaths and nearly 50% of cases of neurological disorders in childhood.
In Western countries up to 80% of neonatal deaths are due to prematurity and in infants who survive 10% experience long-term problems.
One of the programs launched by UNDP in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 was to reduce child mortality, from 93 child deaths from 1,000 children under 5 years to a third, 31 child deaths from 1000 children under 5 years and infant birth rates of 17 per 1,000 live births.
Premature babies (born between 23 and 28 weeks) are at high risk of suffering from cerebral palsy, ADHD, anxiety, asthma, problems with vision, hearing, and digestion. They also have a higher risk of infection and are most at risk of SIDS, a sudden infant death syndrome.
Preterm birth is a birth that occurs more than three weeks before the baby is born. So this makes the baby have less time to develop in the womb.
Babies are premature, not only are they smaller in size, but they can also have problems with their development and physique.
Here are the factors that some studies think have the potential to increase the risk of having a premature baby:
Risk Factors For Preterm Labor
Previously had premature birth
Having a previous premature baby puts you at increased risk of having a premature baby back.
This risk also increases if the pregnancy is close together or if you has other risk factors.
Controlling other risk factors can help reduce the risk of giving birth to a second premature.
Twin pregnancies
Mothers who are pregnant with twins are at increased risk of giving birth to premature babies, as well as other potential risks.
You can consult a doctor when they know they are pregnant with twins to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy.
Uterine and cervical problems
Infections of the uterus and cervix as well as the placenta can lead to premature birth.
Many treatments for this problem, ranging from rest to taking medication, consult your doctor.
Idiopathic
Although in the past it was said that about 50% of the causes of preterm labor are unknown, nowadays idiopathic classification is considered excessive, because it turns out that after it is known that many factors are involved in premature labor, then most of the causes of premature labor should be classified into it.
If other causal factors do not exist so that the cause of prematurity cannot be explained, then the cause of preterm labor is called idiopathic.
Iatrogenic
The development of medical technology and the development of medical ethics, placing the fetus as an individual who has the right to life (Fetus as a Patient).
So if the continuation of pregnancy is suspected to harm the fetus, the mother will be “fired” as the place to live of the fetus, and the fetus will be moved to the outside environment that is considered better than the mother’s uterus as a place of survival.
On the contrary, if the mother’s condition is threatened by her pregnancy, then the doctor will terminate the pregnancy, even though the fetus still needs the mother’s uterus as her place of life and force the fetus to live in the outside world so that the mother and the fetus are safe.
The condition causes artificial preterm labor / Iatrogenic which is also referred to as Elective preterm.
The state of the mother that often causes elective preterm labor is
- Heavy preeclampsia and eclampsia
- Antepartum hemorrhage
- Chorioamnionitis
- Severe heart disease or severe pulmonary / kidney disease.
The state of the fetus that can cause preterm labor are
- Fetal emergency (anemia, hypoxia, acidosis or fetal heart disorders)
- Intrauterine infection
- Fetal Growth Restriction (FGR), formerly called Intrauterine Growth Restriction
- Rhesus Isoimmunization
- Umbilical cord knot (Cord Entanglement) in monochorionic twins.
