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Premature births can be prevented: officials |
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Written by Sherri Gallant
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Thursday, January 29 2009, 2:57 PM |
Numbers of premature births and babies with low birth weights may be on the rise across the country — along with the cost of their medical care — but much of what causes early delivery and underweight babies could be prevented, say Chinook Health officials.
New data released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) says delayed childbearing, the use of fertility treatments and maternal obesity all contribute, which puts added strain on health-care resources and families of babies born pre-term.
Alberta is in the top three provinces and territories for the highest rates of preemies and underweight babies, and while it may seem contradictory for it to happen in a wealthy province with excellent health care, it’s not.
“The economy in this province has actually caused problems and stress for pregnant women,” said Debbie Martin, perinatal co-ordinator for Chinook Health. “And it’s the kind of stress that brings along substance use. Our smoking rates haven’t really gone down, but I do believe we have one of the highest rates in Canada of smoking and, according to everything I’ve read, smoking is probably the number-one contributing factor to low birth-weight. And it’s a modifiable factor.”
In 2005-2006, the average in-hospital cost for a low birth weight baby — less than 2,500 grams or five and a half pounds — was more than 11 times higher than for those weighing 2,500 grams (about five and a half pounds) or more. That translates into an average of $12,354 as compared to $1,084 for a normal weight baby. The cost of care for single preterm babies was on average nine times higher than for full-term babies — $9,233 versus $1,050.
“Women who are younger than 20 or older than 35 are more likely to have a low birth weight baby,” said Linda Lacny, director of women’s health for the Chinook region.
“And other contributing factors are high levels of stress and anxiety, violence, abuse and maternal trauma.”
Women with high blood pressure or diabetes were six times more likely than women without those conditions to deliver preterm. High blood pressure and diabetes are often linked to obesity. Assisted reproduction contributes to the problem because it often leads to multiple births — and because of it, there has been an explosion of triplets and twins in this country. Multiple-birth babies were nearly 17 times as likely to be born preterm as single babies, the CIHI report said. But single babies conceived with the help of fertility treatments are still more likely to be born preterm than babies conceived naturally, the study showed.
Lacny said if pregnant women have a lack of social support, are single, poor, if they smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke, and if they use cocaine or narcotics or have physically-demanding jobs, they’ll be more likely to go into labour early or have a baby that’s underweight. What’s more, sexually-transmitted infections like syphilis and gonorrhea are on the rise, both of which can have an adverse effect on pregnancy.
And often the costs associated with preemies can go on for years, since they tend to have more health issues than babies born at full term. If born under 28 weeks, babies often have struggles for years with respiratory ailments, visual and hearing problems and sometimes motor and sensory impairment.
At Chinook Regional Hospital in 2007-08, a total of 2,609 babies were born and 155 babies that were born before 37 weeks gestation (40 weeks is full term) were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for treatment — or 5.94 per cent. That’s lower than the Alberta rate of 8.7 per cent. The number could actually be higher, as the 155 were admitted for treatment, but there may have been other preemies who didn’t require treatment.
“There’s things women can do to reduce the chances of having a pre-term birth, and one of the first things is to quit smoking,” Martin said. “There’s a provincial helpline, www.smokershelpline.ca that gives great help in quitting. The research is very clear, and shows that the benefits of quitting outweigh any risks, and there’s also a toll-free number: 1-877-513-5333. Regular visits to a health-care provider are a really important protective factor. And attending prenatal class, especially an early one, healthy pregnancy class, is vital.”
Better Beginnings was developed to address low birth weight back in 1994, and since it began, rates have improved. For information, contact your community health office. In addition, women can attend a free prenatal drop-in that’s held every afternoon at the train station, from 1 to 4 p.m.
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