Jezebel 
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New York, 9:03 AM
Wed Nov 11
68 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/04/09
The only reasons I could think of were work stress and the fact that I'm over 30. I guess with the next pregnancy I'm just going to take it super easy.
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@Lymed: Yes, that's an important point, and I can see that I was overgeneralizing. Not all premature births are the result of inadequate neonatal care; they can happen even with the best of doctors and monitoring. The list of risks also include women having children closer than two years together, which isn't related to income level (although I guess it could be if the women are getting pregnant due to lack of affordable birth control). But I do wonder whether the statistic about African American women is unrelated to class. The article didn't say whether they had investigated whether the higher rate in African American communities had any correlation to income level (At least I don't see that, but maybe I missed it?). I wish I could figure out if they checked whether the rate of premature births among African American women was higher than white women of their same class level, or if the higher rate of premature birth among African Americans is the result of the disproportionate number of African Americans who are below the poverty line. (I know the "African Americans are more likely to be below the poverty line" generalization gets thrown around a lot, but if my college sociology classes drilled anything into me, it's that class and race are interrelated in this country.) Not getting prenatal care can obviously be the result of a lot of things, not just poverty, but pregnant women without health insurance are a lot less likely to get it.
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BTW - mine were early because of HELLP syndrome. It sucked.
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10/04/09
So is this study determining what constitutes premature by looking at things like health and birthweight, or is it just that all babies born before 37 weeks are preemies, even if they're healthy? Is there such thing as a healthy baby born before 37 weeks? Or is it a study of babies who could have used the extra week or five in utero to finish getting pudgy?
10/04/09
10/04/09
While I can see your point about the cutoff for premature birth potentially being arbitrary, it really isn't. 34-36 weeks is considered "late pre-term," and that accounts for most premature births. Fewer than 31 or 32 weeks means a baby will have serious problems.
There are hallmarks of development for fetuses just like there are for children, and that's where these timelines come in.
Now, the issue I think you're kind of getting at is that it's sometimes hard to pinpoint the conception date, so maybe we're just off by a week and that 36-week "preemie" is really a 38-week full gestation baby or something.
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10/04/09
Seriously though, it still shocks me that this is as much of a problem. Is it maybe because it's not totally clear why it happens?
10/05/09
10/04/09
I have no major health problems as a result of the amazing preemie care I received. I was in the hospital for 4 months before my parents got to take me home. I can't imagine what challenges there are for premature babies born in areas where hospitals are not close or not even available.
10/04/09
The last one by a full six weeks. And yes, a lot of this has to do with shitty prenatal care. She goes to the doctor like she's supposed to, but the doctor's don't really seem to care.
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10/04/09
Have you read the book Pushed? You'd probably find it useful and interesting. It's all about the C-section rate in the US and history behind that movement.
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10/04/09
SEVENTY.
What the holy fuck, right??
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I also wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with the number of ob/gyns dropping the ob part of their practice. Perhaps fewer doctors delivering babies mean those that do feel a need to schedule the births.
10/04/09
It's crazy, but a lot of doctors really DON'T think we are capable of delivering babies. My friend had a cesarean with her first and it was only when she was pregnant with #2 that she learned WHY (and a total bullshit reason involving an induction with pitocin and then a bad midwife). Her first doctor told her she wouldn't be able to deliver vaginally. Her new midwife helped her have a succesful VBAC -- with no pain meds.
10/04/09
06/04/09
I'm thinking a lifelike animated vagina, proudly standing in line at a voting booth?
Nothing terrifies anit-choicers more than the thought of an educated, free-thinking vagina!
06/04/09
There are plenty of morally questionable things that are perfectly legal, and plenty of morally impeccable things that are outside the law. I'd like to see some more discussion along these boundaries.
Personally, although I find late term abortions heartrending, and would be upset if someone *did* terminate a viable fetus "on a whim," I still think these options should be legal and open to all.
06/04/09
2. Can we stop insisting that there are people out there terminating 'viable' fetuses late term. There are people out there terminating fetuses late term for a variety of health reasons concerning mother and unborn child. I've never heard of a single case where someone did it 'on a whim'
3. The argument about viable or not viable fetuses taken to its logical conclusion is really one for outlawing early abortion not late term abortion because it is those fetus which are aborted early which are most likely to be viable had they not be aborted.
4. Abortion is a personal decision and an moral qualms are between the woman involved and the father should she wish him to have a say.
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1. late term abortions for conditions of the fetus that are incompatible with life are discovered late due to a lack of good prenatal care. making gold standard prenatal care available to all women would reveal the tragic cases earlier, and the decision to terminate, if that is the woman's choice, can be made earlier.
2. late term abortions for the sake of the mother's health may still be necessary
3. choice is a matter between a woman and her physician in all cases
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