Premature Birth

[Guest guest]

So, I was wondering...

Outside of me and one friend of mine (whose first was a preemie), everyone I

know who has had babies this year have had preemies - anywhere from 4 weeks

to 11 weeks early. They're not all from the same area either...

Is it just me, or does it seem preemies are becoming more and more common?

-Lana

" There is nothing more useful than sun and salt. " - Latin proverb

[Guest guest]

Yes, and if they are premie, the doctor decides when its time. Someone I

work with scheduled their delivery for 8-8-08. Some husband is going to

appreciate that someday, but ya gotta wonder about the baby.

I don't know many woman who take proper care of themselves when they are

pregnant, and I know NONE that took as good care as you did, Lana. Maybe

those babies just want out of there thinking its gotta be better out here.

Half kidding.

Kathy

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lana Gibbons

Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 8:14 PM

Subject: Premature Birth

So, I was wondering...

Outside of me and one friend of mine (whose first was a preemie), everyone I

know who has had babies this year have had preemies - anywhere from 4 weeks

to 11 weeks early. They're not all from the same area either...

Is it just me, or does it seem preemies are becoming more and more common?

-Lana

" There is nothing more useful than sun and salt. " - Latin proverb

[Guest guest]

> Is it just me, or does it seem preemies are becoming more and more common?

Yes, definitely more common, due to such a horrible food supply and lack of

understanding about nutrition, and the use of high-inaccurate ultrasounds to

predict due date and weight. Malnutrition is recognized by the March of

Dimes as a leading cause of prematurity but they're strangely silent on the

issue of doctor-induced prematurity.

The last statistic I saw about it said 1 in 10 are born before 37 weeks, but

I think that was a couple of years old. And considering that the average

woman doesn't ovulate on day 14 but closer to day 18-20, I'd bet quite a

number who are born near that 'magical' 37-week mark are actually a week or

so too early, too, since most women don't know when they ovulated or

conceived.

Some doctors believe that the smaller the baby when it's born, the easier it

is on the mother, so they pressure to induce or C-section around 37-weeks

for 'convenience.' Also, doctors use ultrasounds to change the due date.

At the end of pregnancy, the ultrasound is accurate to within 2-pounds

either side. So the 8-pounder they predict can be 6-10 pounds... I knew

one woman who was scared into a C-section because her baby was going to be

over 10 pounds. The baby was 6 pounds 10 ounces.

I've known more than one woman whose baby was premature because of an

impatient doctor who believed that at the 37-week mark, all babies are

'fully baked.' And women who knew what their date of conception was, but

the doctor changed it after an ultrasound and pressured her into a C-section

because the baby was 'too big' and was obviously conceived before the mother

thought, only to do the C-section and find out the baby is actually

premature because ultrasounds are so inaccurate.

KerryAnn

http://www.cookingtf.com/ - American and Australian TF Menu Mailers

http://www.tfrecipes.com/forum/ - Traditional Foods forum

[Guest guest]

>...does it seem preemies are becoming more and more common?

I read somewhere (can't remember where, sorry!) in the last few weeks

about this. It looks like the percent of premature births in the US

has about doubled since the early 1990s! At least, that is my

recollection of it...

My spouse's cousin (early 20s) is expecting her second child in a few

weeks. Her first child was born about a month early and at 20 months,

still isn't talking. She understands speech but just doesn't use it.

She's been way behind since birth, it seems.

Her second child is due at the end of the month. At 35 weeks, she was

in labor at the hospital. They stopped it (or it stopped) somehow and

she's on semi-bedrest. We live hundreds of miles away and don't keep

in touch, but my guess is that she's the type that would limit her

food intake to keep weight gain down. She also started her daughter on

solids at a little under 4 months to help her " sleep through the

night. " I was horrified.

I highly recommend Dr. Brewer's book, " What Every Pregnant Woman

Should Know. " His website at www.blueribbonbaby.org summarizes the

diet and its ability to reduce premature births (due to the mother's

body not being able to handle the pregnancy anymore). The diet is very

WAP compatible.

[Guest guest]

Funny, just today I had an assignment to do a little library research

on the maternal risk factors for preterm birth. It's true, the

incidence has been rising steadily in the US--it has increased 30% in

the past two decades!

One recent study found that folate supplementation is strongly

associated with reduced early preterm birth (below), but folate is

only a small part of maternal nutrition status. The mainstream medical

community is largely clueless as to the major causes of preterm labor.

Half of all preterm births occur in women with no known clinical risk

factors! That's crazy.

This problem obviously has a huge detrimental effect to both families

and society at large. I hope the relation of nutrition to preterm

labor is better researched and understood soon.

Tom

Bukowski R, Malone F, Porter FD, Nyberg DA. Preconceptional folate

prevents preterm delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007; 197:S3.

" Preconceptional folate supplementation is associated with a 50-70%

reduction in the incidence of early spontaneous preterm birth. The

earlier the preterm birth the stronger the effect. Folate

supplementation is equally effective in patient with and without prior

preterm birth. "

[Guest guest]

You'd probably be interested in reading the book Having Faith by

Steingraber.

She's a biologist who discusses research into the pollutants causing birth

defects and

potentially premature births. I just finished reading it and found it to be a

rich source of

information, and a starting point for deeper research.

Gray, Chandler, AZ

--- In , " Lana Gibbons " <lana.m.gibbons@...>

wrote:

>

> So, I was wondering...

>

> Outside of me and one friend of mine (whose first was a preemie), everyone I

> know who has had babies this year have had preemies - anywhere from 4 weeks

> to 11 weeks early. They're not all from the same area either...

>

> Is it just me, or does it seem preemies are becoming more and more common?

>

> -Lana

>

> " There is nothing more useful than sun and salt. " - Latin proverb

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've read studies about vitamin C deficiency and weak amniotic sacs at

naturalchildbirth.org. . . . .surely chemical vitamins and excess carbs

play into this, too. Sometimes it's a big baby in an unhealthy often gd

mother. Implicit in the 'small babies are easier for the mother'

arguement is the primary text of allopathic culture of fetal monitoring

and maternal drugging, that keeps a woman on her back during labor, even

slanted, so that the pelvic arch doesn't expand as it can in other

positions of easier birthing, and there is the subtext that a big baby

will stretch the mother's vaginal tissue, making her less desirable to

the husband (or the doctor who is insecure himself). Everyone has heard

the stories of doctors 'sewing a woman up tight' after an episiotomy.

Desh

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