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Local doctor becomes advocate for reducing premature births

Dr. Amy Brenner talks with Nicole Patrick of Trenton on Monday, Nov. 30, in the Labor and Delivery section of Mercy Hospital Fairfield. Brenner, an area OB/Gyn, is helping combat preterm births by recommending to women who show risk factors a test that detects one's likelihood of having a premature birth.

Staff photo by Apryl Pilolli Dr. Amy Brenner talks with Nicole Patrick of Trenton on Monday, Nov. 30, in the Labor and Delivery section of Mercy Hospital Fairfield. Brenner, an area OB/Gyn, is helping combat preterm births by recommending to women who show risk factors a test that detects one's likelihood of having a premature birth.

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By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer Updated 5:19 PM Tuesday, December 1, 2009

When Deanna Withers found out she was pregnant with her son Nathan, she was excited.

But that excitement quickly turned into worry when he was born April 22, 2006 — three months premature — and then horror when Nathan died May 30 after he got pneumonia in his underdeveloped lungs.

Withers, 22, of Hamilton, had no indicators she was going to deliver preterm.

“There are about 4 million births each year in the United States,” said Dr. Amy Brenner, an OB/Gyn with Fairfield-based Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates. “And about 12 percent of births deliver preterm.”

About 80 percent of women who have preterm births — which is before 37 completed weeks of gestation — deliver without any risk factors, she said. But during November, which was Preterm Baby Awareness Month, she and other health-care specialists tried to educate people about the risks of being in the other 20 percent.

When Withers was pregnant with her second child, Kayden, she was excited and scared. This second pregnancy was classified as high-risk. As soon as she could, Withers had a fetal fibronectin test, which Brenner said can indicate the likelihood of a woman delivering preterm. Withers also received injections of progesterone, a steroid hormone.

“When the results came back, it was a relief,” Withers said.

Brenner uses the fetal fibronectin test at Mercy Hospital Fairfield for those patients who have that risk factor, such as teen pregnancy, smoking, a history of preterm delivery or an infection.

“The fetal fibronectin is a nice second piece to the puzzle,” Brenner said. “If it’s positive, I’ll say let’s do something, whether it’s steroids or bed rest or observation and admission.”

According to the March of Dimes, a national organization dedicated to the health of babies and newborns, Ohio’s premature birth rate is graded an “F” (13.2 percent). The country’s rate is graded a “D” (12.7 percent).

Premature births are the leading cause of death in babies without birth defects, Brenner said. And about 30 percent of newborn health-care spending is related to premature births.

Withers said any woman pregnant after losing a child to a premature birth will face fears. But, she says, “Don’t lose hope.”

“You’ve got to do what you can do to make the pregnancy the best that it can be,” she said. “You got to eat right, go to your doctors appointments. The tests are great. It makes you have that reassurance.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.