Full-term pregnancy is considered to be after 37 weeks. Childbirth, which began earlier than this period, is called premature, and the baby born as a result of this birth is called premature.
Causes of premature birth
The main reason for the onset of premature birth is infectious and inflammatory processes in the body of a pregnant woman. In the presence of an infection in the uterus, an inflammatory process occurs, the result of which is its defective work. When the walls of the inflamed uterus can no longer stretch, the body tries to get rid of the fetus.
It happens that the muscles of the cervix are defective. This disease is called ischemic-cervical insufficiency. The reason may be past abortions, breaks in childbirth, surgery.
A woman with a history of uterine diseases, abortions and miscarriages should be under constant medical supervision so that premature birth does not catch her by surprise.
Signs of premature labor
The signs of premature birth are the same as in the case of a full-term pregnancy. They can begin with the discharge of the mucous plug, the outpouring of amniotic fluid, pulling and cramping pains in the abdomen and in the lumbar region. With the onset of premature birth at any time, a woman needs urgent hospitalization.
Mother and baby after premature birth
The consequences of premature birth can be different, it depends on the characteristics of the course of pregnancy, the timing of delivery, the reasons that caused them. For a woman, they take place in the same way as a delivery on time, her delay in a medical institution can only be associated with finding the baby under special supervision. Modern medicine has access to methods of nursing children weighing more than 500 grams, while most of them catch up with their peers in physical and mental development by the age of 2-3 years.
