Extremely premature babies may be facing several difficulties later on in their lives. Low income, poor health and less sex life are reportedly tied to premature birth.
A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that preemies with low birth weights are more likely to remain single and become unemployed, or have lower incomes. They are also in danger of developing chronic health problems than their counterparts who were born with normal birth weights, the Huffington Post reported (via Reuters).
Researchers from the McMaster University in Ontario, Canada examined 189 adults between 1977 and 1982, with 100 of them born as premature babies weighing less than 1 kilo, while the remaining 89 were born normally and weighed over 2.5 kilos.
Problems Encountered By A Preemie
During their mid-20s, both of the groups have similar achievements and life conditions, but that changed when they got older. Between 29 and 36 years old, many premature adults became unemployed while some only earned less than $20,000 annually.
In addition, half of the premature adults were single or unmarried, while 20 percent of them had never had sex. Only two percent out of the group which was carried to full-term had never had sexual intercourse.
Dr. Saroj Saigal, the lead author of the research, said neurological disabilities can be blamed for the differences between premature and full-term adults. Personality differences also play a part, with premature adults less likely to be go-getters as opposed to their full-term counterparts.
Nearly one out of 10 babies born in the U.S. are preemies, who were born before 37 completed weeks of gestation. Premature babies often have breathing, vision, hearing and feeding problems. They also have high chances of developing cerebral palsy and developmental delay, the U.S. National Library of Medicine listed.
Is Premature Birth Preventable?
A company in Utah is developing technology touted to aid in determining premature births. During the past five years, Sera Prognostics has been working on finding patterns within a woman's protein that could help them know if some females have high chances of delivering their babies early, Fox 13 reported.
To do this, Sera Prognostics draws blood from women during the 19th week of their pregnancy. Sera Prognostics CEO Greg Critchfield said mediations will be done if a woman proves to be a high risk for premature birth. If the company becomes successful with its endeavor, pregnant women will be able to keep the baby in her uterus until it reaches full-term and gets born healthy.
