Premature birth Health Dictionary

See CONTRACEPTION.... birth control

In 2003, 695,500 live births were registered in the United Kingdom; 38 per cent occurred outside marriage. Overall, total fertility is falling slowly. The number of births per 1,000 women aged over 40 years has been rising, and in 1999 was 8.9 per cent. In Great Britain in 2003, 193,817 legal abortions were performed under the Abortion Act 1967.... birth rate

A disorder in which EJACULATION of semen occurs before or immediately after the penis penetrates the vagina during sexual intercourse. The most common sexual problem in men, persistent premature ejaculation may have psychological causes, although many adolescents and some adults experience it occasionally. Sexual counselling may help to alleviate the condition.... premature ejaculation

North of England midwives ‘birth’ tea. Equal parts: Basil, Lavender and Raspberry leaves in infusion. To each cupful add few grains grated Nutmeg.

To arrest excessive bleeding: Yarrow or Nettle tea. After the event; to restore – Alfalfa tea.

To heal the placenta: inserts of powdered Comfrey. ... birth

The passage that extends from the neck of the womb (UTERUS), known as the CERVIX UTERI, to the opening of the VAGINA. The baby passes along this passage during childbirth.... birth canal

See CONGENITAL.... birth defects

See ECTOPIC BEAT.... premature beat

An area of discoloured skin present from birth, or very soon afterwards, such as moles, freckles, and other types of melanocytic naevus (various flat, brown to blue-grey skin patches), strawberry marks, and port-wine stains.

The last 2 are types of haemangioma (malformation of blood vessels).

Strawberry marks often increase in size in the first year, but most disappear after the age of 9 years.

Port-wine stains seldom fade, but laser treatment performed in adulthood can make some of them fade.... birthmark

Birth marks are of various kinds; the most common are port-wine marks (see NAEVUS). Pigment spots are found, very often raised above the skin surface and more or less hairy, being then called moles (see MOLE).... birth marks

A pool of warm water in which a woman can give birth to her baby. The infant is delivered into the water. The method was introduced during the 1980s and is claimed to make delivery less painful and upsetting.... birth pool

Twins occur about once in 80 pregnancies, triplets once in 6,000, and quadruplets about once in 500,000. Quintuplets are exceedingly rare. Such is the natural state of a?airs.

In recent years, however, the position has been altered by the introduction of the so-called fertility drugs, such as CLOMIPHENE, and human menopausal gonadotrophin which, through the medium of the PITUITARY GLAND, stimulate the production of ova (see OVUM). Their wide use in the treatment of INFERTILITY has resulted in an increase in the number of multiple births, a recognised hazard of giving too large a dose.

Twins may be binovular or uniovular. Binovular, or fraternal, twins are the result of the mother’s releasing two ova within a few days of each other and both being fertilised by separate spermatozoa (see SPERMATOZOON). They both develop separately in the mother’s womb and are no more alike than is usual with members of the same family. They are three times as common as uniovular, or identical, twins, who are developed from a single ovum fertilised by a single spermatozoon, but which has split early in development. This is why they are usually so remarkably alike in looks and mental characteristics. Unlike binovular twins, who may be of the same or di?erent sex, they are always of the same sex.

So far as fraternal, or binovular, twins are concerned, multiple pregnancy may be an inherited tendency; it certainly occurs more often in certain families, but this may be partly due to chance. A woman who has already given birth to twins is ten times more likely to have another multiple pregnancy than one who has not previously had twins. The statistical chance of a third pair of twins is 1:512,000. Identical twins do not run in families.

The relative proportion of twins of each type varies in di?erent races. Identical twins have much the same frequency all over the world: around 3 per 1,000 maternities. Fraternal twins are rare in Mongolian races: less than 3 per 1,000 maternities. In Caucasians they occur two or three times as often as identical twins: between 7 (Spain and Portugal) and 10 (Czech and Slovak Republics and Greece) per 1,000 maternities. They are more common in Afro-Caribbeans, reaching 30 per 1,000 maternities in certain West African populations.

Rarely, uniovular twins may not develop as separate individuals, being physically joined in some way. They are called conjoined or (traditionally) Siamese twins. Depending on the extent of common structures shared by the infants – this ranges from a common umbilical cord to twins with conjoined heads or a common liver – the infants may be successfully separated by surgery. (See CONJOINED TWINS.)

Parents of twins, triplets, etc. can obtain advice and help from the Twins and Multiple Births Association (TAMBA).... multiple births

Emission of semen before sexual partner is prepared for orgasm. Agnus Castus, Vervain, Cramp bark, Mistletoe, Valerian. ... ejaculation, premature

Damage sustained during birth. Minor injuries, such as bruising and swelling of the scalp during a vaginal delivery (see cephalhaematoma) are common. More serious injury can occur, particularly if the baby is excessively large and has difficulty in passing through the birth canal. A breech delivery may result in injury to nerves in the shoulder, causing temporary paralysis in the arm. The face may be paralysed temporarily if the facial nerve is traumatized by forceps. Fractured bones are another hazard of difficult deliveries, but the bones usually heal easily. (See also birth defects; brain damage.)... birth injury

Aristolochia longa, L. Aristolochia clematis L. Aristolochia indica L.

Part used: root. Long reputation in traditional medicine. Prescription by medical practitioner only. Action: stimulant, emmenagogue, diaphoretic, oxytocic (hence its name – to induce childbirth delivery). Immune enhancer. Stimulates action of white blood cells.

Reduces effects of Prednisolone, Chloramphenicol and Tetracycline (H. Wagner, “Economic & Medicinal Plant Research, vol 1, Pub: Academic Press (1985) UK)

Uses: Chinese medicine: ulcers, infectious diseases.

Preparations: Powdered root: dose – 2-4 grams. 2-3 times daily.

Madaus: Tardolyt: a sodium salt of aristolochic acid. ... birthwort

A pool of warm water in which a woman can sit to help relieve pain during labour.... birthpool

A baby’s weight at birth that usually ranges from 2.5–4.5 kg.

Birthweight depends on a number of factors, including the size and ethnic origin of the parents.

Babies who weigh less than 2.5 kg at birth are classified as being of low birthweight.

Causes of low birthweight include prematurity and undernourishment in the uterus (for example, because the mother had preeclampsia).

Abnormally high birthweight is often due to unrecognized or poorly controlled diabetes mellitus in the mother.... birthweight

see hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.... birth asphyxia

a chair specially adapted to allow childbirth to take place in a sitting position. Its introduction in the Western world followed the increasing demand by women for greater mobility during labour. The chair is electronically powered and can be tilted back quickly and easily should the need arise.... birthing chair

1. delivery of a child by *Caesarean section after the mother’s death. 2. birth of a child after the father’s death.... posthumous birth

menopause occurring before the age of 40. It may be caused by autoimmunity, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or genetic factors, for example a mutation in the FSH receptor gene causing excess secretion of gonadotrophins and small underdeveloped ovaries. Treatment is by hormone replacement, either with the contraceptive pill or HRT. *Oocyte donation should be discussed if the patient wishes for assisted conception.... premature ovarian failure

see PROM; PPROM; labour.... premature rupture of membranes

(premature birth) birth of a baby before 37 weeks (259 days) of gestation (calculated from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual period); a birth at less than 23 weeks is at present incompatible with life. Such factors as *pre-eclampsia, multiple pregnancies (e.g. twins), maternal infection, and *cervical incompetence may all result in preterm births, but in the majority of cases the cause is unknown. Conditions affecting preterm babies may include *respiratory distress syndrome, feeding difficulties, inability to maintain normal body temperature, *apnoea, infection, *necrotizing enterocolitis, and brain haemorrhages. Supportive treatment is provided in an incubator in a neonatal unit; many infants survive with no residual impairment but the shorter the gestation period, the more serious are the problems to be overcome.... preterm birth