Unit 52 What Can Go Wrong rely 4
Write an initial substantive response of 80 words in length.
Begin your response with a restatement of the question/prompt, and include
in-text citation(s) and a reference for each scholarly source used according to
the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide located in the Student Success
Center. The restatement of the question/prompt, the references, and the
citations are not included in your response word count.
During the development of a fetus, many factors can negatively
influence the physical, etc. development process. Please pick a specific
condition that is common during the prenatal development process, such as PKU,
to use in answering the questions below. Be sure to pick a disease or condition
that is DIFFERENT from one already discussed by your classmates AND provide a
link to a website where the class can learn more about the condition.
Questions:
What is the condition/disease and what are the symptoms?
Why does the condition/disease occur and what can be done to
prevent it?
What are the long-term or short-term effects on the child
once born with the condition?
If you were a health educator working with women who are
thinking about becoming pregnant or are already pregnant, what would you
suggest in order to lower the risk factors for this condition/disease?
Shelly Smith
Unit 5.2 DB What could go wrong?
COLLAPSE
PRECONCEPTION
Healthy “girlhood” is a key to healthy pregnancy
and motherhood. Improving the reproductive health of a population must first
involve assuring the health of girls and young women who will become mothers.
Investing in the health of women must continue into adulthood and the peak
childbearing ages to promote the delivery of healthy infants. Among the key
elements of such a strategy are:
⢠Promoting the healthy development of young girls and
adolescents to be active, well-nourished
and well-educated about their bodies and their sexuality, so
that they can make responsible choices.
⢠Improving access to primary and preventive care for girls
and women of all ages to promote
the health of mothers, which includes screening and treating
preexisting infections and conditions, and the counseling to prevent them.
⢠Contraceptive counseling and access to family planning
services to reduce unwanted, mistimed
and closely spaced pregnancies, especially among high-risk
populations (e.g., teens and older women).
⢠Health education and policies that discourage smoking and
drug use and promote physical
activity and good nutrition to improve behavioral and
physical health prior to pregnancy. (The Infant Mortality Task Force , 2005)
PRENATAL
High-quality comprehensive prenatal care has the potential
to identify and address maternal risks,
resulting in both healthier mothers and infants. Ideally
many of the preexisting risks addressed during prenatal care should be
prevented or treated prior to pregnancy, but the prenatal period is still an
important time to address these and other complications that may arise during
pregnancy. The following are critical components of comprehensive, high-quality
prenatal care.
⢠Promote early entry and continued use of quality prenatal
care with a full array of enabling and
psychosocial services.
⢠Screen and treat reproductive tract infections and monitor
preexisting conditions.
⢠Continue counseling to encourage healthy life style and
good nutrition, including adequate
folate and iron intake.
⢠Educate women about the early signs of pregnancy-related
problems.
⢠Assure management of high-risk pregnancies in
maternal-fetal medicine units within regionalized
systems of care. (The Infant Mortality Task Force, 2005)
Questions:
1. What is the condition/disease and what are the symptoms?
Perinatal mortality: Is the statistical rate of fetal and infant death,
including stillbirth, from 28 weeks of gestation to the end of the neonatal
period of 4 weeks after birth. Perinatal mortality is usually expressed as the
number of deaths in a given period per 1000 live births in a specific
geographic area or program. (medical-dictionary)
Maternal and perinatal health
About 287 000 women died in 2010 of complications during
pregnancy or childbirth. Most of these deaths can be avoided as the necessary
medical interventions exist and are well known. The key obstacle is pregnant
women’s lack of access to quality skilled care before, during and after
childbirth.
Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5), improve maternal
health, set the targets of reducing maternal mortality by 75% and achieving
universal access to reproductive health by 2015. But, so far progress in
reducing maternal mortality in developing countries and providing family
planning services has been too slow to meet the targets. (World Health
Organization)
2. Why does the condition/disease occur and what can be done
to prevent it?
Causes of maternal mortality
The major direct causes of maternal morbidity and mortality
include haemorrhage, infection, high blood pressure, unsafe abortion, and
obstructed labour. These complications may arise unexpectedly. Investing in
health systems – especially in training midwives and in making emergency
obstetric care available round-the-clock – is key to reducing maternal
mortality. Addressing the barriers to use of care and creating a environment
within households and community that support women in seeking the needed care
is also key.
The perinatal period
The perinatal period commences at 22 completed weeks (154
days) of gestation and ends seven completed days after birth. Perinatal and
maternal health are closely linked. Perinatal mortality refers to the number of
stillbirths and deaths in the first week of life (early neonatal mortality).
(World Health Organization)
To prevent this from happening the women need to have the
right perinatal care.
3. What are the long-term or short-term effects on the child
once born with the condition?
Prenatal stress and perinatal outcomesâMaternal stress and
anxiety during pregnancy has been associate with: shorter gestation &
higher incidence of preterm birth, smaller birth weight and length, increased
risk of miscarriage.
Prenatal stress and infant outcomesâProspective studies have
shown that maternal stress and anxiety during pregnancy are related to infant
outcomes such as: temperamental problems and increased fussiness, problems
with attention, attention regulation, and emotional reactivity, lower scores
on measures of mental development
Prenatal stress and child outcomesâA recent large-scale
epidemiological study confirmed some of the infant outcomes above and showed
associations between prenatal stress and anxiety and: hyperactivity and
inattention in boys, emotional problems in girls and boys,conduct problems in
girls.
4. If you were a health educator working with women who are
thinking about becoming pregnant or are already pregnant, what would you
suggest in order to lower the risk factors for this condition/disease? I would
make sure that these countries get the prepare care that they need for free. By
following these
Strategies to reduce infant mortality rates.
In practical terms, infant mortality can be addressed by
focusing on critical periods in the health of women and their infants and
adopting a series of interventions that target specific risks. Because the factors that underlie infant death are
multiple and complex, there is no single “magic bullet” to reduce
infant mortality. It is important to note that while most interventions focus
on women, we must also recognize the critical role of male partners in
supporting the health of women and their infants. Further,the focus on the
biological and medical pathways should not be interpreted as relieving society
of the need to address underlying social inequalities. Finally, reducing infant
mortality requires a “life course” approach to the health of women.
(The Infant Mortality Task Force, 2005 )
Shelly
References:
(http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/files/infantmortalityreport.pdf)
(http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/perinatal+mortality)
(http://www.psychiatry.emory.edu/)
(http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/maternal/maternal_perinatal/en/