Mothers & Fathers To Be : Checkout The Causes Of Premature Birth

A Nigerian consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist has given an explanation to why some women prematurely give birth to their babies.
Dr Chris Abumchi, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, says violence among couples can predispose pregnant women to preterm ( premature ) births.
Abumchi said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja.
He said that other social vices such as smoking, alcohol consumption and drug abuse could also lead to preterm birth.
He said that Nigeria ranked the highest with the burden of premature babies in the world after India and China. According to him, preterm birth was a global challenge and one in every 10 babies is born premature.
He said that with 800,000 babies born prematurely every year, Nigeria had the highest burden in the world after India and China.
He explained that premature babies were born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy, and may experience more health challenges with need to stay longer in hospital than babies born later.
Abumchi said the normal gestation period for humans was between 38 to 42 weeks, adding that preterm babies were born before the developing organs mature enough to allow normal postnatal survival.
He said the causes of preterm birth include weakness of the neck of the womb whereby a pregnant woman’s cervix begins to dilate before the pregnancy reaches full term.
He identified warning signs of preterm labour as contractions whereby the belly tightened every 10 minutes or more, change in vaginal discharge such as fluid or bleeding and belly cramps, among others.
The consultant advised women to seek early pre-natal care immediately they realised they had conceived to receive information on how to eat right, gain the proper weight and screen for infections.
He said all pregnant women should avoid certain risk factors such as being overweight, smoking, illegal drugs during pregnancy.