Recently, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services published a report on preterm birth in Utah.
Preterm birth means a baby is born too early, or before 37 weeks.
Getting prenatal care from a doctor or midwife is one of the most important things you can do to help lower the risk of your baby being born too early.
The report found that moms who don’t get enough prenatal care during pregnancy are more than twice as likely to deliver their baby between 32 and 37 weeks, and three times as likely to deliver their baby before 32 weeks.
When babies are born too early, they are more likely to need to go to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and stay in the hospital for more than 5 days. They have a higher risk for many sicknesses and developmental problems. Some of these things don’t go away and are with them for life.
If you’re pregnant, one of the most important things you can do is get prenatal care early on in your pregnancy from a doctor or midwife and attend every appointment during pregnancy. At these visits, get the tests and screenings your provider recommends and follow their instructions to help keep you and your baby healthy.
Moms need lots of support. If you have a pregnant woman in your life, you can play an important role in helping her get prenatal care. You can do things like offer to drive her to appointments or care for her other children while she attends appointments.
There’s still a lot we need to learn about what causes preterm birth, but many of the risk factors can be managed or treated during pregnancy with prenatal care.