Poor Sleep Linked to Premature Birth

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It is almost fact that women do not sleep great throughout their pregnancy, but new research links premature birth to poor sleep quality in both early and late stages of pregnancy. Early pregnancy, in weeks 14 through 16, showed a 25% increase in premature births as reported by Michele L. Okun of the University of Pittsburgh. She also reported that in later stages of pregnancy the odds increased by 18%. The study included 166 pregnant women using self reporting questionnaires which included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Interestingly enough sleep quality in the second trimester did not relate to premature birth.
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Prenatal vitamins with docosahexaenoic acid, also known as DHA are one more way of protecting baby against some of the developmental problems that can follow premature birth in expectant mothers should start taking them as soon as they know they are pregnant. However, if the mother has not taken DHA before giving birth, supplemental DHA can still help protect the premature baby’s brain.

DHA is an essential fatty acid the baby’s body uses to make the brain. It is especially important during the 28th to 40th weeks of pregnancy, when the brain and central nervous system are busy wiring connections and growing blood vessels for their blood supply. Even when babies are carried to term, infants born to mothers who took at least 300 mg of DHA a day (the average woman’s diet provides just 45 to 115 mg of DHA a day) have better vision and faster mental development.

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Vitamin E is essential to the development of the baby before and after birth, but vitamin E deficiencies in babies carried to term are very rare. Many preemies, however, are given vitamin E to prevent a condition called retinopathy of prematurity.

Also known as retrolental fibroplasia, retinopathy of prematurity is the leading cause of blindness in children. When children are carried for the full nine months in the womb, the last 12 weeks are especially active for the growth of the eye. The blood vessels supplying the retina gradually spread over its surface and stop their progression at about the time of birth.

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