Infant Mortality
...birth, expressed in relation to every 1,000 live births. Infant mortality is commonly divided into two categories: neonatal deaths (occurring during the first 27 days after birth) post-neonatal deaths (occurring from the age of 28 days to one year).
The largest concern that most people have with regard to medication use during pregnancy is the risk of the drug causing birth defects. The different type of medication is prescription, OTC, illegal, and herbal. Many pregnant women take different types of medication, because they are unaware of the danger some medication may cause. Medication use during pregnancy can also affect other aspects of pregnancy including risk for pre-term birth, spontaneous abortion, or low birth weight. About 1 in 33 babies are born each year with a birth defect.
The leading causes of infant mortality are multi-factorial, interrelated environmental and social factors. Factors that lead to increased infant mortality risk include 1) Low birth-weight, 2) Lack of prenatal care, 3) Lack of medical care access, 4) Mothers with less than a high school education, 5) Lack of health education, 6) Use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, including legal or illegal, 7) Sudden infant death syndrome, 8) Maternal infections, 9) Environmental factors, and10) Poverty. The factor that we are mainly focused on in this research is the miss use of medication, prescription, over the counter (OTC), including herbal medication.
Materials and Method
While investigating this research we observed the frequent use of prescription drugs, OTC, and herbal medication. Our research consisted of collecting a list of medicines used frequently, what products they are found in, and the effect it has on pregnant women, and fetuses. Data was collected from Shelby County Health Department, Government and General public information web sites. The purpose of this...
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