Premature Babies

Almost 1 of every 10 infants born in the United States are premature, or preemies. A premature birth is when a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks.

Important growth and development happen throughout pregnancy - especially in the final months and weeks. Because they are born too early, preemies weigh much less than full-term babies. They may have health problems because their organs did not have enough time to develop. Problems that a baby born too early may have include:

• Breathing problems
• Feeding difficulties
• Cerebral palsy
• Developmental delay
• Vision problems
• Hearing problems

Preemies need special medical care in a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU. They stay there until their organ systems can work on their own.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Sciatica

Sciatica is a symptom of a problem with the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. It controls muscles in the back of your knee and lower leg and provides feeling to the back of your thigh, part of your lower leg, and the sole of your foot. When you have sciatica, you have pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling. It can start in the lower back and extend down your leg to your calf, foot, or even your toes. It's usually on only one side of your body.

Causes of sciatica include:

• A ruptured intervertebral disk
• Narrowing of the spinal canal that puts pressure on the nerve, called spinal stenosis
• An injury such as a pelvic fracture.

In many cases no cause can be found.

Sometimes sciatica goes away on its own. Treatment, if needed, depends on the cause of the problem. It may include exercises, medicines, and surgery.

Sleep Disorders

What is sleep?

While you are sleeping your brain and body functions are still active. Sleep is a natural process that helps your body restore energy, supports learning and memory, and keeps you healthy.

It's not just the number of hours of sleep you get that matters. The quality of your sleep is also important. During the night, your brain cycles through different stages of non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. If your sleep is often interrupted, you may not get enough time in certain stages of sleep. Poor-quality sleep does more than make you feel tired. It can affect your physical and mental health, thinking, and daily functioning.

Sleep disorders are conditions that disturb your normal sleep patterns. There are many types of sleep disorders. Some general types include:

• Insomnia, which is trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
• Sleep-related breathing disorders such as sleep apnea, a condition in which you stop breathing for 10 seconds or more during sleep.
• Sleep-related movement disorders such as restless leg syndrome (RLS), which involves tingling or prickling sensations in your legs, and a strong urge to move them.
• Hypersomnia, which is extreme daytime sleepiness. This includes narcolepsy.
• Circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, which are problems falling asleep or waking up at the right times. This may be due to shift work or jet lag.
• Parasomnia, which is unusual behaviors during sleep or while falling asleep or waking up. This may include sleepwalking, talking, or eating during sleep.

Some people who feel tired during the day have a true sleep disorder, while others simply don't get enough sleep. The amount of sleep you need depends on your age, lifestyle, health, and sleep patterns. Most adults need about 7-9 hours each night.

There are different causes for different sleep disorders. They may include:

• Other health conditions, such as heart disease, lung disease, nerve disorders, or pain
• Mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety
• Medicines
• Genetics

Sometimes the cause is unknown.

Other factors that may contribute to sleep problems include:

• Using caffeine or alcohol
• Having an irregular schedule, such as working the night shift
• Aging, since older adults may sleep less, spend less time in deep sleep, and wake easily

The symptoms of sleep disorders depend on the specific disorder. Some signs that you may have a sleep disorder include that:

• You regularly take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep.
• You regularly wake up several times and then have trouble falling back to sleep, or you wake up too early in the morning.
• You often feel sleepy during the day, take frequent naps, or fall asleep at the wrong times during the day.
• Your bed partner says that when you sleep, you snore loudly, snort, gasp, make choking sounds, or stop breathing for short periods.
• You have creeping or tingling sensations in your legs or arms that are relieved by moving or massaging them, especially in the evening and when trying to fall asleep.
• Your bed partner notices that your legs or arms jerk often during sleep.
• You have vivid, dreamlike experiences while falling asleep or dozing.
• You have episodes of sudden muscle weakness triggered by strong emotions.
• You feel as though you cannot move or speak for a brief time when you first wake up.

To diagnose a sleep disorder, your health care provider will review your medical and sleep history and do a physical exam. You may also have a sleep study (polysomnogram). Most sleep studies monitor and record data about your body during a full night of sleep. The data includes:

• Brain wave activity
• Eye movements
• Breathing rate
• Blood pressure
• Heart rate and electrical activity in the heart and other muscles

Other types of sleep studies may check how quickly you fall asleep during daytime naps or how well you can stay awake during the day.

Treatments for sleep disorders depend on which disorder you have. They may include:

• Practicing good sleep habits and other lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise
• Reducing anxiety about sleep with cognitive behavioral therapy or relaxation techniques
• Using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine for sleep apnea
• Using bright light therapy (in the morning)
• Taking sleep aid medicines, or natural products such as melatonin

Always check with your provider before taking any medicine or supplement. Most sleep aid medicines are generally for short-term use.

Streptococcal Infections

Strep is short for Streptococcus, a type of bacteria. There are several types. Two of them cause most of the strep infections in people: group A and group B.

Group A strep causes:

• Strep throat - a sore, red throat. Your tonsils may be swollen and have white spots on them.
• Scarlet fever - an illness that follows strep throat. It causes a red rash on the body.
• Impetigo - a skin infection
• Toxic shock syndrome
• Cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease)

Group B strep can cause blood infections, pneumonia and meningitis in newborns. A screening test during pregnancy can tell if you have it. If you do, intravenous (IV) antibiotics during labor can save your baby's life. Adults can also get group B strep infections, especially if they are 65 or older or already have health problems. Strep B can cause urinary tract infections, blood infections, skin infections and pneumonia in adults.

Antibiotics are used to treat strep infections.

Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by bacteria. It infects the genital area, lips, mouth, or anus of both men and women. You usually get syphilis from sexual contact with someone who has it. It can also pass from mother to baby during pregnancy.

The early stage of syphilis usually causes a single, small, painless sore. Sometimes it causes swelling in nearby lymph nodes. If you do not treat it, syphilis usually causes a non-itchy skin rash, often on your hands and feet. Many people do not notice symptoms for years. Symptoms can go away and come back.

The sores caused by syphilis make it easier to get or give someone HIV during sex. If you are pregnant, syphilis can cause complications, or you could lose your baby. In rare cases, syphilis causes serious health problems and even death.

Syphilis is easy to cure with antibiotics if you catch it early. Correct usage of latex condoms greatly reduces, but does not completely eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading syphilis. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms. The most reliable way to avoid infection is to not have anal, vaginal, or oral sex.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention