Listen Up - First Steps for Helping Babies WNCU 90.7 FM North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation

Screenings for Health and Wellness
"Early Detection"
2:53
Message Content:

Narrator: Nearly half of all pregnancies come as a surprise - if the baby is born preterm or before the 37th week, the surprise is even greater.  Each year in North Carolina, more than 10,000 babies are born pre-term. These babies are often too small to be healthy. Unfortunately, African American babies are much more likely to be born preterm than other babies. So what causes preterm birth? Obstetrician Gynecologist Doctor Ira Q. Smith explains.

Dr. Ira Q. Smith: When it comes to what causes pre-term birth…there are more questions than answers.  One thing we do know is that when a woman enters into pregnancy with an undetected or poorly managed medical condition, she puts her health and her unborn baby’s health at risk. This could mean an early delivery, lifelong health problems for baby and even death.  Finding and treating health problems before pregnancy improves a woman’s health and increases her chance of having a healthy baby.  Because nearly half of all pregnancies come as a surprise, it is important that all women of childbearing age visit the doctor on a regular basis. 

Narrator: Going to the doctor however is not something most women enjoy. In fact some women avoid going all together. Here’s one mother's birth story.

Birth Mother: I thought I was just like any other pregnant woman - eating more, sleeping more, and gaining more weight.  Then everything started to look blurry, I went to the doctor for the first time in three years.  My hands and feet were swollen.  The doctor told me I had preeclampsia. Some call it toxemia or “bad blood”.  I had to stay in the hospital until my blood pressure and other test results were normal. Before I knew it, I was in the delivery room.  My life and my baby’s life were in danger.  At 28 weeks my son was born.  He weighed less than 2 pounds. My baby had to be fed by a feeding tube. I left without him.  He came home three weeks later, but still has health problems.

I should have seen the doctor before I got pregnant.  I could have made changes to help prevent my son from being born too early and too small to be healthy.  If you are even thinking about getting pregnant, do everything you can to have a healthy baby.

Narrator: To learn more about preventing pre-term birth, call 1-8-0-0-F-O-R-B-A-B-Y.
This healthy baby message is brought to you by WNCU 90.7FM and the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation.