Low Birth Weight

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Daniel Gadegbeku PSY 241 FJWO1 Steven Withrow Low Birth Weight Birth rate is the body weight of a baby at its birth, and low birth rate is the weight of an infant of less than 5 pounds. The primary cause of low birth rate is premature birth that is being born before 37 weeks gestation; a baby born early has less time in the mother's uterus to grow and gain weight, and much of a fetus's weight is gained during the latter part of the mother's pregnancy. So the basic cause of low birth weight is premature birth. Also another cause of low birth weight is intrauterine growth restriction. This kind of cause occurs when a baby does not grow well in the utero because of problems with the placenta, or the mother's health or birth defects. Babies with Intrauterine growth restrict may be born early, also premature babies with intrauterine growth restrict may be very small and physically immature, and full-term babies with Intrauterine growth restrict may be physically mature but weak. Also, low birth weight also depends on the age of the mother. If the mother is a teenager, then it is more likely for her baby to have low birth rate, especially those younger than 15. Multiple birth babies are at increased risk of low birth weight because they are often pre mature. Moreover, excessive stress and victim of domestic violence or other abuse also may increase the risk of low birth weight. Babies who have low birth weight are more likely to have health problems than babies born normally. Many of the premature and low birth weight babies lack enough body fat to uphold a normal body temperature, and have medical problems. Some of the medical problems that infants with low birth weight have are that they have the risk of developing breath problems such as the respiration distress syndrome. Also these infants with low birth weight have bleeding in the head, dangerous
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