A changing lifestyle is not only seen as the cause of diseases like diabetes, hypertension and obesity, it is also leading to premature births. According to World Health Organization (WHO), the number of premature births is on the rise — about 15 million babies are born prematurely worldwide every year. City hospitals too have witnessed a rise in the number of premature births by about 5 per cent in the last few years.
The most worrying factor is that these pre-mature children are at a higher risk of developing breathing problems, bleeding in the brain and are also extremely susceptible to infection. If left untreated, they are most likely to develop life-long disabilities like blindness and cerebral palsy, said Dr Phani Bhushan, consultant Neonatologist, Columbia Asia Hospital. “We are getting quite a few cases at our centre of such expectant mothers with early labour pain (at around 28-34 weeks of their pregnancy). Growing infertility problems, gestational diabetes, hypertension and high blood pressure are affecting expectant mothers in a bad way. All these factors are triggering early labour,”the doctor added.
When babies are born premature they are most likely to have breathing problems as their lungs are not mature enough for normal breathing. These babies are also extremely susceptible to various forms of infection. “The risk is about 60 per cent higher in such premature babies compared to normal ones. Since the first day of their birth, the risk of bleeding in the brain rises by about 90 per cent due to fluctuation of carbon dioxide level in the blood,” he further added.
Consultant gynaecologist from Malathi Manipal Hospital, Dr Kishore Kumtakar, said: “Over the past few years the number of pre-mature births has gone up by almost about 5 per cent in city. Changing food habits and sedentary lifestyles among would-be mothers are the major causes. Increasing TORCH (Toxoplasmosis, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes) infection can lead to severe foetal anomalies or even foetal loss. Besides increased travelling, psychological problems and smoking among expectant mothers are inducing pre-mature labour.”
Meanwhile taking care of such pre-mature babies is equally difficult. He said: “Due to their extremely small size, pre-mature babies do not have the ability to maintain body temperature and blood sugar. Hence they often get frequent high temperatures and also collapse subsequently.”