Home > Media Relations > Mercy News Archive

Media Relations: Mercy News Archive

Premature Births Still Prevalent Notes Mercy OB/GYN Dr. Michael Richman

BALTIMORE — When a woman becomes pregnant, she hopes to deliver a full-term baby, but for many women that doesn't happen. Premature births are still prevalent despite medical advances, and most of the time the reason for pre-term labor is a mystery.

Baby Grace Kyper should have been born this month, but the unexpected happened instead.

"Christmas morning, I got out of bed and my water broke. She was 10 weeks early," said Megan Kyper, Grace's mom.

Mercy OB/GYN Dr. Michael Richman said despite better medicine and technology, doctors still aren't making headway in reducing the number of pre-term deliveries.

"The majority of the patients that go into pre-term labor, we don't know why (it happens). We try to stop it or delay it as long as possible," Richman said.

Grace weighed almost 4 pounds and was in a neonatal intensive care unit for six weeks.

"She had to learn how to suck, swallow, breathe and drink all of her feedings through a bottle. She was a little weak and she got tired out really easily," Kyper said.

Premature babies are also at risk for brain, heart, and intestinal problems. Some known risk factors for pre-term labor include smoking, drug use, women who are over 35 years old, teenagers and women expecting multiple births, doctors said.

Dr. Richman said medication and bed rest are the usual treatments to stop and delay pre-term labor, but it also depends on how far into the pregnancy a woman is.