Premature birth – when the stork comes early

Which factors can lead to a premature birth?

There are many reasons for a shortened pregnancy. The mother’s age an unhealthy lifestyle, a low socioeconomic status, diabetes mellitus and multiple pregnancies are important risk factors.

Are there techniques for prevention?

By way of a series of prevention methods, doctors have tried to prevent the risk factors of premature birth. One technique is for pregnant women to change their diet to include healthy and balanced nutrition, or to maintain a healthy weight. In some cases, experiencing stress in the workplace can become a burden, and so light duty or an occupational ban should be considered. In certain situations, medicinal and operative measures can further minimize the risk of a premature birth.

What to do if a premature birth is imminent:

If a premature birth is imminent, there are measures that can be taken to significantly improve the baby’s prognosis.

Medications, such as tocolytics, can be administered to postpone the birthing process. This way there is more time to allow for further growth. An infant benefits from every additional day spent in the mother’s womb. Staying away from physical activity can also positively influence the situation, additionally delaying the birth. The level of maturity of an infant’s lungs is important. Lungs will usually be matured after 34 weeks. In case of an earlier birth, lung development can be accelerated with the help of glucocorticoiden, a descendant of cortisol.

Once the premature infant is born, it must receive professional and acute care. Aside from possible medicinal measures, the premature infant must be carefully monitored for an increase in weight, bone length growth and the development of their head circumference.

When every gram counts

The seca 757 has been specifically developed to fit the requirements of neonatology and pediatrics. Determining the precise weight measurements of newborns and premature infants is essential. For this reason, the seca 757 measures fine graduation of 2 g for detecting even the slightest weight changes. The maximum weight capacity of 15 kg guarantees that the scale can also be used for toddlers. During the scale’s development process, a main focus was to create a user-friendly device that is easy to disinfect.

As newborns and babies have a strong need for movement, the seca 757 has an incorporated cushioning effect that, in combination with the ‘hold’ function, offers precise and reliable data. To improve the device’s mobility, the scale can either be plugged in to a power connection or operated with a battery pack. With the help of the seca 360° wireless technology, the measuring data can be transmitted to a computer and easily transferred into an EMR system for optimized workflow and decreasing manual entry error. Importantly for premature infants, strict and precise monitoring is essential for reducing the possibility of negative effects.