Maternal Neonatal Child Health Resources, Causes of Deaths in Babies - Essay Example

Maternal Neonatal Child Health Resource Name Tutor Institution Course Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Maternal Neonatal Child Health Resource 3 Executive Summary 3 Infant Mortality 3 Causes of Infant Mortality 4 Premature births 4 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) 4 Maternal Obesity 5 Smoking and Alcohol and Substance Abuse 6 Quality of midwifery 6 Recommendations 7 List of References 8 Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2014, Infant Mortality http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortality.htm [19th December, 2014]. 8 Maternal Neonatal Child Health Resource Executive Summary A lot of efforts have been has been dedicated to mitigate child fatalities associated with maltreatment. As a result, tremendous achievements have been made over the recent decades. In this case, various governments and partners have rejuvenated their degree of commitment to saving lives o f infants and their mothers. However, cases of sudden infant deaths still remain a major challenge across all nations irrespective of socio-economic status. For instance, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention CDC report (2014) over twenty thousand infants died in the year 2011 in US alone. Neonatal deaths and infant death rates recorded in the United Kingdom also indicate almost similar statistics as the last two decades. For many families, deaths of babies still remain a sad reality. This paper examines infant mortality and some of its causes. Infant Mortality The death of babies less than one year of age expressed over a thousand live births has been an indicator of populations’ total death rates for over the years. Infant mortality can be categorized into two groups depending on the time of death. The death of children below twenty seven days after live birth is referred to as neonatal mortality. The second category consists of death of children between twenty eight days after live birth and one year and is referred to as post-neonatal mortality. Causes of Infant Mortality Premature births Infant mortality is associated with a number of factors. One of the major factors includes complications that arise from pre mature births. This situation also referred to as preterm birth is the major affect children who were born before they attained thirty seven weeks. The normal pregnancies should last for forty weeks for babies to be considered fully matured. Most of infant mortality data indicate that majority of babies who pass on untimely were born within thirty two weeks of pregnancy. Lawn and Kinney (2014) explain that this situation is often caused by biological complications generated by lung immaturity, poor support for the feeding system and lack of warmth. Premature babies also weigh less than the normal babies and have undeveloped brains. In addition, they have poor immune system. This implies that their have low resistance to illnesses are at higher risk of succumbing to form infection. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) SID refers to the unexplained sudden deaths of babies below one year. It most occurs to normal healthy babies while they are a sleep in their cribs. Some paediatricians associate prone sleeping as one of the main factors that result in sudden deaths of babies while a sleep. In this instance prone sleeping not only increases the temperature of the infants but also triggers the creation of both bacteria and bacteria related toxins (Trachtenberg et al 2014). Additionally, the position at which babies are placed during their sleep can either result in suffocation or they can be entrapped between two objects such as the mattress and the blankets. Sleeping with babies on the same on the same bed is also a trigger of such accidents. Maternal Obesity Expectant mothers who are suffering from obesity face serious pregnancy related complications and are likely to develop diabetes or hypertension. These complications can lead to delivery often conducted through caesarean section. Their children face high risks of developing health complications such as neural tube defects, increased rates of birth injuries. Neural Tube Defects is a birth defect of spinal and the brain which is associated with lack of folic acids in the diets of mothers before and during pregnancies. According to CDC (2014), folic acids are vitamin B components which help in preventing defects of the spinal cord and the brain of a new born. Other neural tube defects that cause death in babies such as chromosomal abnormalities and congenital malformations are easily preventable. Such children also face higher challenges of low APGAR scores and are admitted in neonatal intensive care units compared to babies whose mothers do not suffer from obesity. Subsequently, it is evident that these children are likely to die at tender age. Their children are always born weighing much less than normal babies. According to Gee V. (2010), low birth weight is among the major causes of infant mortality over the five years period between 2004 and 2008 accounting to about thirty two per cent per a hundred infant deaths in Western Australia. Smoking and Alcohol and Substance Abuse Smoking during pregnancies increases the chances of infant mortality. Compared to non-smoking expectant mothers, the children of the smoking mothers are always born prematurely and under eloped biologically. Preterm babies often experience respiratory distress syndrome due to poorly developed lungs. Although medical progress has been achieved in the effort to counter this challenges, respiratory syndrome is still on the top of the list of factors that lead to infant mortality. High alcohol consumption during pregnancy mental and physical birth defects referred to as Fatal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). FAS is characterized by patters of disabilities such facial deformation, low birth weights, dysfunctional central nervous system, poor mental development and other range of malfunction organs (TCHP Education Consortium 2000). Quality of midwifery The economic and social status plays a critical in determining the quality of midwifery. This implies that there is variation in the regional data on infant mortality depending on availability of quality delivery facilities and socio-economic status. Essentially, poor communities are often hit by high rates of infant and child mortalities compared to wealthy communities. In this instance, the deaths of infants among the Aboriginal Australian women were about four times higher tan the children born to non Aboriginal Australian women (Gee 2010). Such minority ethnic groups are often discriminated against and live far away a way from frontline health facility. Therefore, high death rates are largely attributed to poor child delivery conditions. In extreme cases, children are born without the care of a qualified physician. Such children are likely to develop medical complications that their mother may not be aware of and which can lead to early deaths. Recommendations In essence, most of the causes of deaths in babies can be reduced or even eliminated and the death rates are reduced significantly. For instance, most of the babies die as a result of malformation caused by premature births. In most cases, preterm births are a result of carelessness that can easily be prevented. In this case the expectant mother should abstain from consumption of substances that risk the lives of their unborn babies such as alcohol and drugs. Cases of SIDS can also be mitigated by monitoring the position of the sleeping babies. Campaign should be conducted by various governments to educate their citizens about babies’ safe sleeping environment. In this instance, mother should be ought that the sleeping children should be laid strictly on their backs. Practices such as putting children to sleep sofa sets, waterbeds, bean bags, sagging mattresses or in adult beds then leaving then on their own should avoided. This will help cases of children slipping and falling on the floor, suffocation or entrapments. It is also recommendable for adults to share rooms with their babies. However, the children should be placed I cribs and should share the same beds as the parent. List of References Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2014, Infant Mortality http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortality.htm [19th December, 2014]. Gee, V. 2010, Perinatal, Infant and Maternal Mortality in Western Australia, 2004-2008. Department of Health, Perth, Western Australia. http://www.health.wa.gov.au/publications/documents/perinatal/Perinatal_Infant_Maternal_Mortality_dec2010.pdf [19th December, 2014]. Kurinczuk, J.J, Hollowell, J, Brocklehurst, P, & Gray, R, 2009, Inequalities in Infant Mortality Project Briefing Paper 1. Infant mortality: overview and context https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/downloads/files/infant-mortality/Infant-Mortality-Briefing-Paper-1.pdf [19th December, 2014]. Lawn, J. E & Kinney, M, 2014, Preterm birth: Now the leading cause of child death worldwide, http://stm.sciencemag.org/site/rapid/Lawn/6263ed21.pdf [19th December, 2014]. TCHP Education Consortium, 2000 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome http://www.faslink.org/FASbook2.pdf [19th December, 2014]. Trachtenberg, F.L, Haas, E A., Kinney, H C Stanley, C & Krous, HF, 2014, Risk Factor Changes for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome after Initiation of Back-to-Sleep Campaign, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/129/4/630.full.pdf [19th December, 2014]. Read More