By: Shankavi Suthaparan
Every single year, about 15 million babies are born prematurely, before the 37th week of pregnancy. Most preterm births may occur due to several causes, such as multiple pregnancies, chronic conditions, early induction to labor, infections, or due to a possible genetic influence. Regardless of cause, many premature births occur spontaneously, and the earlier they are born, the more difficult it can be to care for them.
Back in the 1800’s, many doctors believed that preterm infants were genetically inferior beings, and were expected to die. That was until a doctor by the name Stephane Tarnier stepped into the picture. He had been incredibly disturbed by the alarmingly high mortality rate the most underweight babies had in his hospital, and was determined to change that. That day, he happened to go to the Paris Zoo, where he started to look at a poultry egg warmer, used to hatch eggs. After observing it for a while, he came to the realization that this invention could be used for premature babies as well. Back then, they had only wrapped them up in flannel, hoping it would be enough to keep them warm. After coming up with a prototype alongside his friend who was the head of the Paris Zoo, Tarnier began the use of this invention in 1883. As soon as they started, preterm baby survival rates increased drastically.
Another discovery that significantly improved the aid of premature babies was made by Sister Jean Ward, a British nurse who worked at the Rochford General Hospital located in the UK. She was known to bring these infants outside into the courtyard on warm, sunny days, with the belief that fresh air and sunshine would do them much better than sitting cooped up in the hospital. In 1956, pediatricians had observed a jaundiced preterm baby, who oddly had a patch of yellow on its skin, whereas the rest of its body seemed to be a pale yellow. When asked, Sister Jean had explained that this infant had been exposed to sunlight, and that the small portion of skin was the only part that was covered by a blanket. The rest of the baby's skin looked to have faded. A couple weeks later, an exchange transfusion was performed on a preterm baby, yet the tube that contained the blood sample was mistakenly left on a window sill. This accident however led them to discover that the bilirubin content in the sample was much lower than expected, further proving that exposure to sunlight reduces bilirubin content. Eventually, this discovery had resulted in the invention of bilirubin lights, now used worldwide to treat newborn jaundice.
Today, many hospitals regularly treat and save the lives of infants born as early as 22 weeks. The survival rate of the baby does however depend on the location of the hospital, and exactly what services they are able to provide. Medicine has improved significantly over the past couple decades, and by further advancing our medical technology, we will continue to change the face of medicine today.
References:
World Health Organization: WHO. (2018, February 19). Preterm birth. Who.int; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preterm-birth
Keeffe, P. (2015, October 14). How Modern Medicine Is Saving the Lives of Premature Babies. Healthline; Healthline Media.https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-modern-medicine-is-saving-the-lives-of-pemature-babies-101415#1
Knotts, B., & Meghna Chakrabarti. (2020, January 28). How Modern Medicine Has Changed Premature Birth Care | On Point. Wbur.org; WBUR. https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/01/28/modern-medicine-premature-birth-care
Maisels, M. J. (2015). Sister Jean Ward, phototherapy, and jaundice: a unique human and photochemical interaction. Journal of Perinatology, 35(9), 671–675.
https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2015.56
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