Treatments for Premature Birth

Treatments for Premature Birth

The list of treatments mentioned in various sources for Premature Birth includes the following list. Always seek professional medical advice about any treatment or change in treatment plans.

• Anti-contraction medications
• Corticosteroids - help to stimulate the growth of fetal lungs to produce surfactant
• Possible delivery measures include:
  • Vaginal delivery
  • Episiotomy
  • Forceps
  • Cesarian delivery
• Treatment measures for a premature infant:
  • Intensive care
  • Humidicrib
  • Breastfeeding - if possible
• Copper - possibly used if condition is due to copper deficiency

Premature Birth: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Premature Birth:

• Mom & Baby
• Pregnancy
• Womens Health
• more product offers...»

Premature Birth: Research Doctors & Specialists

• Pregnancy & Fertility Health Specialists:
  • Maternal & Fetal Medicine
  • Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
• Baby & Newborn Health Specialists:
• Womens Health Specialists:
  • Gynecological Oncology
• Child Health Specialists (Pediatrics):
  • Pediatrics (Child Health Specialist)
  • Adolescent Medicine (Teen Health)
  • Pediatric / Adolescent Psychiatry (Child/Teen Mental Health)
  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (Child Allergies / Immune Diseases)
  • Pediatric Cardiology (Child Heart Specialists)
  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Pediatric Dentistry (Child Dental Health)
  • Pediatric Dermatology (Child Skin Health)
  • Pediatric Developmental Behavioral Health (Child Behavior)
  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Pediatric Endocrinology (Child Hormones)
• more specialists...»

Research all specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospital statistics for Premature Birth:

These medical statistics relate to hospitals, hospitalization and Premature Birth:

• 0.086% (10,916) of hospital consultant episodes were for preterm delivery in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 97% of hospital consultant episodes for preterm delivery required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 100% of hospital consultant episodes for preterm delivery were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 1% of hospital consultant episodes for preterm delivery required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 4.8 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for preterm delivery in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• more hospital information...»

Hospitals & Medical Clinics: Premature Birth

Research quality ratings and patient incidents/safety measures for hospitals and medical facilities in specialties related to Premature Birth:

• Womens Health -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• Child Health (Pediatrics) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Treatment Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Premature Birth, on hospital and medical facility performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Medical news summaries about treatments for Premature Birth:

The following medical news items are relevant to treatment of Premature Birth:

• Hormone therapy may prevent many premature births
• Pomegranate juice beneficial for developing brains
• Untreated asthma affects male and female fetuses differently
• More news »

Book Excerpts: Treatment of Premature Birth

• Treatment - Cesarean birth
• Treatment - Premature rupture of membranes
• Treatment - Premature labor
• Treatment - Premature ejaculation
• Emergency Interventions - Low birth weight
• Treatment - Premature rupture of the membranes
• Nursing considerations - Low birth weight

Treatments of Premature Birth: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the treatments of Premature Birth.

Cesarean birth: Treatment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

The most common type of cesarean birth is the lower segment cesarean, in which a transverse incision across the lower abdomen opens the visceral peritoneum over the uterus. The lower anterior uterine wall is then incised (transversely or longitudinally) behind the bladder.

The classic cesarean — in which a longitudinal incision is made into the body of the uterus, extending into the fundus and opening the top of the uterus — is rarely performed because it exaggerates the risk of infection and of uterine rupture in subsequent pregnancies. Cesarean hysterectomy removes the entire uterus and is reserved for such cases as malignant tumors, severe infection, and placenta accreta.

Patients may have general or regional anesthetic for surgery, depending on the extent of maternal or fetal distress. Possible maternal complications of cesarean delivery include respiratory tract infection, wound dehiscence, thromboembolism, paralytic ileus, hemorrhage, and genitourinary tract infection.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Premature rupture of membranes: Treatment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Treatment for PROM depends on fetal age and the risk of infection. In a term pregnancy, if spontaneous labor and vaginal delivery aren’t achieved within a relatively short time (usually within 24 hours after the membranes rupture), induction of labor with oxytocin is usually required; if induction fails, cesarean delivery is usually necessary. Cesarean hysterectomy is recommended with gross uterine infection.

Management of a preterm pregnancy of less than 34 weeks is controversial. However, with advances in technology, a conservative approach to PROM has now been proven effective. With a preterm pregnancy of 28 to 34 weeks, treatment includes hospitalization and observation for signs of infection (maternal leukocytosis or fever, and fetal tachycardia) while awaiting fetal maturation. If clinical status suggests infection, baseline cultures and sensitivity tests are appropriate. If these tests confirm infection, labor must be induced, followed by I.V. administration of antibiotics. A culture should also be made of gastric aspirate or a swabbing from the neonate’s ear because antibiotic therapy may be indicated for him as well. At such delivery, have resuscitative equipment available to treat neonatal distress.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Premature labor: Treatment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Treatment is intended to suppress premature labor when tests show immature fetal pulmonary development, cervical dilation is less than 1½"(4 cm), and the absence of factors that contraindicate continuation of pregnancy. Such treatment consists of bed rest and, when necessary, drug therapy, but neither has been proven beneficial in all patients.

The following pharmacologic agents can suppress premature labor for up to 48 hours:

❑ Beta-adrenergic stimulants (terbutaline, isoxsuprine, or ritodrine): Stimulation of the beta₂-adrenergic receptors inhibits contractility of uterine smooth muscle. Adverse effects include maternal tachycardia and hypotension, and fetal tachycardia.

❑ Magnesium sulfate: Direct action on the myometrium relaxes the muscle. It also produces maternal adverse effects, such as drowsiness, slurred speech, flushing, decreased reflexes, decreased GI motility, and decreased respirations. Fetal and neonatal adverse effects may include central nervous system (CNS) depression, decreased respirations, and decreased sucking reflex.

Maternal factors that jeopardize the fetus, making premature delivery the lesser risk, include intrauterine infection, abruptio placentae, placental insufficiency, and severe preeclampsia. Among the fetal problems that become more perilous as pregnancy nears term are severe isoimmunization and congenital anomalies.

Ideally, treatment for active premature labor should take place in a regional perinatal intensive care center, where the staff is specially trained to handle this situation. In such settings, the neonate can remain close to his parents. (Community health care facilities commonly lack the equipment necessary for special neonatal care and transfer the neonate alone to a perinatal center.)

Treatment and delivery require an intensive team effort, focusing on:

❑ continuous assessment of the neonate’s health through fetal monitoring

❑ administration of antenatal steroids to assist fetal lung development, unless contraindicated

❑ maintenance of adequate hydration through I.V. fluids.

Prevention of premature labor requires good prenatal care, adequate nutrition, and proper rest. Insertion of a purse-string suture (cerclage) to reinforce an incompetent cervix at 14 to 18 weeks’gestation may prevent premature labor in patients with histories of this disorder. However, this can be dangerous if an incompetent cervix is misdiagnosed and premature labor is the true cause.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Premature ejaculation: Treatment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Masters and Johnson have developed a highly successful, intensive program synthesizing insight therapy, behavioral techniques, and experiential sessions involving both sexual partners. The program is designed to help the patient focus on sensations of impending orgasm.

The therapy sessions, which continue for 2 weeks or longer, typically include:

❑ mutual physical examination, which increases the couple’s awareness of anatomy and physiology while reducing shameful feelings about sexual parts of the body

❑ sensate focus exercises, which allow each partner to caress the other’s body, without intercourse, and to focus on the pleasurable sensations of touch

❑ Semans squeeze technique, which helps the patient gain control of ejaculatory tension by having the woman squeeze his penis, with her thumb on the frenulum and her forefinger and middle finger on the dorsal surface, near the coronal ridge. At the male’s direction, she applies and releases pressure every few minutes during a touching exercise to delay ejaculation by keeping the male at an earlier phase of the sexual response cycle.

The stop-and-start technique helps delay ejaculation. With the female in the superior position, this method involves pelvic thrusting until orgasmic sensations start and then stopping and restarting to aid in control of ejaculation. Eventually, the couple is allowed to achieve orgasm.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Low birth weight: Emergency Interventions
(Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))

Because low birth weight may be associated with poorly developed body systems, particularly the respiratory system, your priority is to monitor the neonate’s respiratory status. Be alert for signs of distress, such as apnea, grunting respirations, intercostal or xiphoid retractions, or a respiratory rate exceeding 60 breaths/minute after the first hour of life. If you detect any of these signs, prepare to provide respiratory support. Endotracheal intubation or supplemental oxygen with an oxygen hood may be needed.

Monitor the neonate’s axillary temperature. Decreased fat reserves may keep him from maintaining normal body temperature, and a drop below 97.8° F (36.5° C) exacerbates respiratory distress by increasing oxygen consumption. To maintain normal body temperature, use an overbed warmer or an Isolette. (If these are unavailable, use a wrapped rubber bottle filled with warm water, but be careful to avoid hyperthermia.) Cover neonate’s head to prevent heat loss.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition), 2006

Premature rupture of the membranes: Treatment
(Handbook of Diseases)

Treatment of PROM depends on fetal age and the risk of infection. In a full- term pregnancy, if spontaneous labor and vaginal delivery aren’t achieved within a relatively short time (usually within 24 hours after the membranes rupture), induction of labor with oxytocin is usually required; if induction fails, cesarean delivery is usually necessary. Cesarean hysterectomy is recommended if the patient is experiencing gross uterine infection.

Management of a preterm pregnancy of less than 34 weeks is controversial. However, with advances in technology, a conservative approach to PROM has now been proven effective.

With a preterm pregnancy of 28 to 34 weeks, treatment includes hospitalization and observation for signs of infection (maternal leukocytosis or fever and fetal tachycardia) while awaiting fetal maturation.

If clinical status suggests infection, baseline cultures and sensitivity tests are appropriate. If these tests confirm infection, labor must be induced, followed by I.V. administration of antibiotics. A culture should also be made of gastric aspirate or a swabbing from the neonate’s ear because antibiotic therapy may be indicated for the neonate as well. In such deliveries, have resuscitative equipment available to treat neonatal distress.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Low birth weight: Nursing considerations
(Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms)

▪ Initiate feedings as soon as possible and continue to feed the neonate every 2 to 3 hours.

▪ Provide gavage or I.V. nutrition for the sick or very premature neonate.

▪ Check abdominal girth daily or more frequently if indicated, and check stools for blood to detect necrotizing enterocolitis.

▪ Prepare for a sepsis workup if signs of infection are associated with low birth weight.

▪ Check the neonate's vital signs every 15 minutes for the first hour and at least once every hour thereafter until his condition stabilizes.

▪ Be alert for changes in temperature or behavior, feeding problems, respiratory distress, or periods of apnea—possible indications of infection.

▪ Monitor blood glucose levels and watch for signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia, such as irritability, jitteriness, tremors, seizures, irregular respirations, lethargy, and a high-pitched or weak cry.

▪ If the neonate is receiving supplemental oxygen, carefully monitor arterial blood gas values and the oxygen concentration of inspired air to prevent retinopathy.

▪ Monitor the neonate's urine output by weighing diapers before and after voiding.

▪ Check urine color, measure specific gravity, and test for the presence of glucose, blood, or protein.

▪ Watch for changes in the neonate's skin color because increasing jaundice may indicate hyperbilirubinemia.

Patient teaching

▪ Explain disorder and all procedures and treatments to the parents.

▪ Encourage the parents to participate in their neonate's care to strengthen bonding.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms, 2007

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