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Relationship Of Substance Abuse And Physical Abuse

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Relationship of Substance Abuse and Physical Abuse in Preterm Birth
In the year of 2010, more than 450 billion babies were born prematurely (Truong, Reifsnider, Mayorga, & Spitler, 2013). At least 35% of infant deaths each year are caused from preterm births, which also costs the U.S health care more than 26 billions of dollars in the year of 2005 alone (Malloy, 2013).Premature birth affects the growth of the child and leads to various complications. Babies born before 37 weeks are at an amplified risk for an assortment of medical complications, such as respiratory, cardiac, neurological, and gastrointestinal problems and infections. The exact cause of premature birth is still unknown till this day, but many researchers found factors that contribute to premature deaths. According to Truong, Reifsnider, Mayorga and Spitler (2013) physical abuse and substance abuse are two of the most significant factors that play a role in premature birth.
Causes of Preterm Birth
The exact cause of preterm birth is not certain yet. A lot of mothers of premature babies feel terrible guilt and wonder many times what they did wrong and if they are to blame for their child being born too early. Babies are delivered before term for the baby’s safety, the mother’s safety or both. Many research studies provide evidence for risk factors for preterm birth such as substance abuse and physical abuse (Gauthier, 2015). Many studies are still being done on preterm birth with hope that in the next couple of

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