Personal Statement: Preterm Birth Initiative

Giving birth to a baby is the most amazing and miraculous experiences for parents and their loved ones. Every woman’s birth story is different and full of joy. Furthermore, the process from the moment a woman knows that she’s pregnant to being in the delivering room is very critical to both her and the newborn baby. Prenatal care is extremely important and it can impact greatly the quality of life of the baby. In this paper, the topic of giving birth will be discussed thoroughly by describing the stories of two mothers who gave birth in different decades and see how their prenatal cares are different from each other with correlation of the advancement of modern medicine between four decades.

Nursing has always been in my life since the day I was born… literally. My Aunt, a labor and delivery nurse, was the one who basically helped my mother deliver me. The fact that my Aunt was lucky enough to be the one that was there for people on those special days fascinated me. As long as could remember I knew I wanted to do that and be the one to help and comfort so many through their highs and lows.

Childbirth is one of the greatest privileges on the earth anyone could have and we, as women, should feel proud to be major contributors for it. Thus, a mother has to play a key role in aiding the healthcare workers to mitigate the health crisis associated with childbirth by performing her duties faithfully. One such associated health crisis is “Premature (preterm) birth” which occurs when the baby is born too early, before 37 weeks of gestational period (CDC, 2015). The rate of preterm birth ranges from 5% to 18% of babies born across 184 countries (WHO, 2015).

Immediately after birth, the newborn has an identification band put on. One band is put on the ankle, one on the wrist. The newborn has footprints done immediately. Included on the footprint sheet are the newborn’s name, sex, DOB, time of birth, and mother’s health record.

It 's 2:30 in the morning, and the only thing that surrounds me are the continuous sounds of dry heaves and vomit, spewing into the toilet in front of me. This is my third pregnancy. Hyperemesis Gravidarum - the diagnosis I have now heard three times. But this time, the circumstances were a bit different. Just a few short months ago, my husband and I made the decision to have my tubal ligation reversed. We had previously talked about the possibility of having more children and knew the challenges we were likely to face. But it wasn 't until my diagnosis that it became a reality that it was no longer on my time.

As it was previously mentioned, nurses will be the leading members of this project. Administrative tasks such as hiring, budgeting, recording inventory, developing partnerships, and evaluating quality and performance, will be carried by the nurse manager. Delivery of prenatal care will be mainly performed by a team of CNMs and RNs. One CNM will be the primary care provider in charge of the complex cases presenting in the Prenatal Care Mobile. The scope of practice of the CNM allows patients to receive medical diagnoses and prescriptions that otherwise, could not be provided by a RN. A couple of RNs will be delivering most of the care for the uncomplicated patients, while also performing comprehensive assessments, screening or diagnostic tests,

However as an undergraduate student, Stasi was not sure what subject she wanted to study to earn her master’s degree. With the worry in mind, Stasi kept working in her community to promote health care. One day as she was working in the community, somebody mentioned to her that she was being a good public health model and she asked “what is public health?” Then she got to learn about the educational field of public health. She wanted to continue to do healthcare promotional work so she chose public health option for the graduate school. Stasi got her master degree in public health (MPH) at the University of Miami, Florida. She started her doctoral program at Texas A&M University in 2015 in the department of Health Promotion and Community Health

Preterm birth can be a devastating experience not only for the mother, but also for the child. This issue has plagued the United States and other countries for many years, and no concrete evidence have been found to tell us why preterm birth occurs. One in eight babies in the United States is born premature each year. The impact of social support on the psychological well-being, attitudes, and behavior of parents is rapidly becoming a major issue. It is becoming more and more difficult for mothers to cope with the long-term and short-term effects of premature birth. These parents’ attitude and behavior can have both a direct and indirect effect on the child's

Health is a complex concept, and global health adds to this complexity. When I think of health as a concept, I view it as being absent of disease. This understanding is a very biomedical approach to health and is a very narrow viewpoint of health. According to the World Health Organization (1948), health is defined as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (a cited by Jacobsen p. 2). This definition does give a better understanding of what health is from a broader perspective. At the University of Victoria’s Global Health class, I have become to understand better the WHO’s definition and that it is linked to the social determinants of health. In this paper, I will reflect and analyze the learning that occurred for myself while taking the Global Health class, and how this knowledge has helped my nursing practice evolve at the local and international level.

Prenatal care is medical care for pregnant woman and is important for a healthy pregnancy. Its key components include regular checkups and prenatal testing, eating healthfully, exercising, and beginning as soon as one knows she is pregnant.

I have chosen to review the article titled ‘Very preterm birth not associated with mood, anxiety disorders’

After finishing my Undergraduate, I have seen it wise to purse masters in public health, an area that I have much interest in. Having pursed a Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences, minor in psychology, expanding my knowledge in the field of public health has been my next option. The vast knowledge that I have gained learning and working can help me while pursuing this program. Given the chance I would be able to fulfill my career goals.

I was drawn to the idea of not only focusing on one-on-one patient care that doctors provide, but also solving problems that affect the health of entire populations. The study of disease and health within populations; for instance, preventing disease, promoting health, and reducing health problems between groups are the main reasons I want to pursue an M.P.H focusing on epidemiology. These are my strongest interests because I believe they are important in improving our world’s health.

Preterm Birth is one of the most important and interesting topics to any prospective parent. One of the reasons is because it happens so often and unexpectedly. Preterm Birth has become a personal interest in research simply because it has made a tremendous impact in my life. Having a Preterm Birth has taught me lots of things, such as, to grow as a person and as a mother, to see things from a different perspective, to get up, continue with my life, and perhaps to learn how to say “good bye” to a little one without even saying “hello.” For all the reasons above, there are some questions I would like to address: Why do preterm births happen and how can it be prevented? What kind of help is offered to parents and family members who go through the process of having a preterm birth? How effective and relevant is that help?

Most SOPH in the UK are organized around the themes of capacity building, multidisciplinary approach, balanced teaching and research. Information is dissipated in traditional class room setting, either as full-time 12 month programmes, or as part-time 24-60 months programmes.(7) Some SOPH have adopted more technologically advanced means of education delivery, utilizing electronic means to provide distance learning facilities, especially for international students who may not be able to afford the cost of living in the UK. The curriculum of most courses in public health conventionally includes subject such as epidemiology, health policy, health promotion, health management, environmental health, human biology and health economics.(6,8,9) Currently however, the scope has been expanded to include courses involving statistical analysis and the use of computer programmes; the ability to access, manage and work with information; the ability to present and disseminate information in an effective manner; interview and