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November
9, 2006
“That’s too small, mama!” my 3-year-old exclaimed as she threw the red sweatshirt in the pile of outgrown clothes. “No, that still fits you,” I said, noting the size 3 tag. I plucked it off the too-small pile and plopped it on the still-fits pile of clothes. She gave me a sideways glance and stealthily attempted to slide the red shirt back into the other pile. She prefers pink and purple clothes. Her attempt to be sneaky was amusing, so I decided to play her game. I distracted her with a toy and put the red shirt back on the still-fits pile. When my other two kids distracted me with a request, she hid it under the too-small pile. I’m not sure where that red shirt finally landed. It seems like only yesterday that we brought home a bouncing 8-pound baby girl who was totally dependent on us. Now I have an independent, although somewhat devious, child with preferences for clothing colors. We were fortunate. Not all babies are born full-term and healthy. In fact, some babies are born so small they could fit in the palm of your hand. In North Dakota and throughout the U.S., the rate of preterm births is growing. Preterm or premature means a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. In North Dakota, the rate of infants born preterm increased almost 32 percent from 1993 to 2003. November is designated as Prematurity Awareness Month by the March of Dimes, an organization dedicated to saving babies. In North Dakota, one in eight of our youngest citizens was born preterm in 2003. Researchers are studying why prematurity occurs because half of all preterm births have unknown causes. Some factors place you more at risk for having a premature baby: pregnancy with twins or other multiples, smoking, drinking alcohol, drug abuse, younger than 17 or older than 35, very under- or overweight. Sometimes premature delivery happens when moms-to-be do everything “right.” The good news is that many premature babies catch up with their full-term counterparts within a year or two. However, some face serious health problems, which may include cerebral palsy, hearing and/or vision loss, lung and nutrition issues, and learning disabilities. The medical bills can be very high. According to the March of Dimes, the average hospital cost for a full-term baby is $1,700, while that of a preterm baby is $77,000. If you or someone you know is contemplating a pregnancy, consider these tips:
For more information about healthy pregnancies, visit our new Healthy Pregnancy – Healthy Baby Web site at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/food.htm (click on health and fitness). Here’s a recipe adapted from the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network. It’s rich in folic acid, which is a B vitamin shown to help prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. Everyone needs folic acid because it helps with the production of blood cells and may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer and heart disease.
### Source:
Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
Market Advisor: |
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North Dakota State University |
