Before birth Questions and Answers

The pregnancy has progressed and birth is approaching, but there is a fear of premature birth for one reason or another….
A number of questions and answers are presented here to assist and provide an initial response to the issue.
We would love to hear suggestions for additional topics that you thought were missing from the site.

How can premature birth be prevented?
The best way to avoid premature birth (or prolong the pregnancy as much as possible) is to have close pregnancy monitoring and follow your doctor's instructions. In addition, there are several products on the market that attempt to detect early infection or amniotic fluid leakage, thus allowing early detection of the risk of premature birth and preparing for it accordingly (by maintaining the pregnancy, timely drug treatment, and so on).

What are the causes of premature birth?
The possible causes of premature birth are many and varied, and not all of them are known to us.
Preeclampsia, bicornuate structure of the uterus, infection in the uterus, amniotic fluid leakage, multiple pregnancy, and more - all of these are possible causes of premature birth.

What is the limit of animals and the limit of treatment?
The limit for animals is the 22nd week of pregnancy – although there have been extremely rare cases in the world in which premature babies were born and survived a few days before that (end of week 21).
It is important to note that in many cases the day of conception itself is not known with certainty and the week of birth may be incorrectly calculated. In Israel, premature babies born up to 22+6 weeks are not considered viable and the Ministry of Health assumes that there is no obligation to treat them intensively unless they show clear signs of viability.
Premature babies born from week 23 to week 23+6 are entitled to have a pediatrician present at birth – if their parents request it.
Starting from week 24, a pediatrician must be present at birth and every life-saving action must be taken.

I am afraid of a hurt child – what can I do about it?
Pregnancy is always a "pig in a poke."
There are no promises and no guarantees. Premature birth is of course more "dangerous" due to the immaturity of the newborn and the need for intensive care (some more and some less). Here too – we are talking about statistics.
There are premature babies born in early weeks whose condition is good or even better, and there are children born on time whose fate is not as good.
In principle, a request can be submitted to the committee for termination of pregnancy, but fear of a premature and damaged child (which is not supported by high percentages of evidence) may not pass the committee.
So the best thing a parent can do is pray and wait. Every moment in the womb is very significant and the difference, for example, between the beginning of the 24th week of pregnancy and its end can be like the difference between heaven and earth.

How to choose a period?
This is a very difficult question.
Proximity to home is significant – especially if the family has other children to care for. There are many variables in determining the appropriate preterm birth, but they are usually not predictable. It is almost impossible to choose a preterm birth based on one variable or another.
If it's manpower - the specific person or people may be sick or simply go on vacation, if they choose due to lack of crowding in the maternity ward - then this is also a variable factor that we have no way of predicting in advance.
Because premature birth does not usually leave us time to prepare for the birth in advance, we recommend going to the hospital where the ongoing monitoring is performed, or where the monitoring doctor works, or the one closest to home.
We recommend that everyone decide what things are most important to them - and decide based on them.

I am pregnant with triplets. Should I prepare for a stay in the hospital?
The answer is much more yes than no.
Although there are cases in which a triplet pregnancy ends on time, the chances of this are not high, so we recommend that you prepare for a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.

I am pregnant with twins. Should I prepare for a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit?
The answer is yes – and no.
Yes – because statistically, a twin pregnancy ends at the 35th week of pregnancy, meaning – in preterm labor. And no – because the statistics balance out.
This means that for every twin pregnancy that ends at week 30, there is a twin pregnancy that ends at week 40 and therefore may not need perinatal services.

What is a period?
Premature birth – or by its full name – special care for newborns and infants – is the department that provides the necessary care for newborns who need care beyond the routine care provided at birth.
Approximately 101% of newborns (about 15,000 newborns per year) are born prematurely and therefore require preterm care services.
In addition to them, there are another 31% of all births (about 5,000 newborns per year) who require preterm birth services due to problems or defects.
In total, over 20,000 newborns pass through 27 premature births across the country each year – over 111,000 of the total number of births per year.

What is expired?
A premature baby is a newborn who was born before his or her due date (37 weeks of pregnancy or less).

From what week of pregnancy can a premature baby survive?
Their number in Israel is constantly increasing, but life is not easy for a premature baby living in an incubator instead of in their mother's womb, and some will even suffer from medical problems for the rest of their lives.
Every year, about 15,000 premature babies, babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy, are born into the world.
In Israel, this represents a tenth of all births.
Thus, instead of continuing to develop in their mother's womb, premature babies emerge with their bodies still fragile and immature for the outside world and are at risk for serious illness and medical complications. Some do not survive and die while still in the hospital or suffer from severe disabilities.