Currently there are prenatal tests that give us an approximate weight of the baby during pregnancy, so we will have this data. Also, if you've reached these words, it's probably that you're already doing everything necessary for the baby to have an appropriate birth weight.
Because indeed the future mother is the one in her hand, most of the time, making it easier for the baby to grow properly. Being born with a low weight (less than 2500 kilograms) or too low (less than 1500 kg) can be a serious problem for the baby, so let's see what can be done to avoid that risk.
Women with resources, informed and who are responsible for medical care and with their lifestyle tend to have a low birth rate of babies of low weight. And it is that the majority of causes of a low birth weight can be prevented.
Avoidable causes of low birth weight
Regarding whether it is possible to prevent low birth weight, it is known that the most effective way to prevent low birth weight is to visit the gynecologist before and during pregnancy on a regular basis. We can learn to take care of our health, and to a large extent reduce the risk of having a low birth weight baby.
The most common causes why babies weigh little at birth and on which we can act are:
- The use of drugs such as tobacco and alcohol can limit fetal growth (and cause birth defects). Therefore, the recommendations are zero alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy. The mother can start to leave those bad habits before getting pregnant. Exposure to smoke from other smokers can also reduce the baby's birth weight.
- The consumption of hard drugs (particularly cocaine). The effects of these drugs on the fetus include other devastating, we are facing one of the most serious risks for the proper development of pregnancy.
- The consumption of a poor diet. Good nutrition during pregnancy is essential for the proper growth of the baby. Consuming a prenatal vitamin supplement throughout pregnancy, which includes folic acid, will help reduce the chances of experiencing a preterm birth and avoid malformation problems ...
- In relation to the previous point we have that the mother's weight is lower than normal due to her voluntary pregorexia or "mamirexia", a willingness to remain excessively thin during pregnancy.
- Suffer from excessive stress and anxiety, which would limit blood flow (and thereby nutrition) to the uterus.
Other causes of low birth weight
Other causes of the baby weighing little at birth, which are not the direct responsibility of the mother but can be detected and / or controlled by medical help are:
- A multiple pregnancy
- A chronic maternal disease (high blood pressure, diabetes, certain infections or problems in the heart, kidneys or lungs ...).
- Experience preterm labor, that is, the child is born prematurely.
- That there is placental insufficiency, that is, that the placenta does not work as well as it should, and the baby can receive less oxygen and nutrients from the mother.
- That some of the parents or the baby suffer from genetic disorders.
- Some environmental factors could influence the normal development of the fetus.
But even in these cases, proper prenatal care and proper diet can compensate for the inevitable weight loss of the baby. If it is known that the baby is very small, today there are more and more advanced medical care that provide the baby with greater possibilities of surviving and growing healthily.
In short, we see that sometimes the baby is small at birth for reasons that nobody can control, but in our environment these cases are detected either by the mother's medical history, or by ultrasound, which can determine if the baby is growing at a normal pace or not.
Not all small babies at birth have intrauterine growth retardation, they may be smaller than normal, but with adequate development. That is why we must assess all the chaos of small babies at birth. The very young are the result of delayed fetal growth.
Finally, we will point out that so many risks entail that a baby has a low birth weight as well as being overweight, so it is always advisable to follow medical recommendations, a healthy lifestyle and go through prenatal checks to check that everything is going well.
Photos | “G” jewels g is for grandma and Daquella way on Flickr In Babies and more | The ideal weight gain during pregnancy, Pregnant women who are overweight, babies with more birth weight, Ten tips for a healthy and happy pregnancy
