I’m working on a social work discussion question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.

Pregnancy can be a very exciting and joyous time in any motheràand fatheràlife. This joy, however, may turn to fear if the mother experiences a premature birth. Premature birth refers to when a baby is born too early¥fore 37 weeks of pregnancy. Prematurity affects more than 450,000 babies each year and is the biggest contributor to infant death. Babies who survive may face lifelong developmental challenges. It is not always possible to explain the causes or contributors but, as a social worker, you may encounter mothers of premature babies who feel guilty or blame themselves, wondering if they did something wrong. As a social worker, you may have to help individuals, families, and communities respond to the psychosocial and medical issues that emerge during this period.

In your text, you read about Felicia. Recall that Felicia is six months pregnant. Her husband, Paul, a member of the military, is deployed to a combat zone. She wakes up in the night to cramping and bloody sheets. With 14 more weeks before her delivery date, she is in pre-term labor. Felicia is transported to the hospital where she gives birth to a premature baby boy weighing 1 pound, 3 ounces. Baby Boy Thompson is immediately taken to the NICU and connected to a ventilator, intravenous lines, and monitor leads. The NICU pediatrician speaks to Felicia about the risks of her early delivery. Felicia is overcome with fear, grief, and guilt. She starts to question herself: )d my drinking influence this? I stopped six weeks in and I didn even know I was pregnant at that time! I have quit smoking, but it took me three months. Could that have been it? Did I eat enough vegetables? Perhaps one too many desserts? Did I not exercise enough? Or, maybe too much? The doctor said I could go for walks. Just nothing high intensity. I didn think it was too much or little. Could the stress of Paul being gone influence it? It must be my faultèat is it? he NICU social worker is there to support her as she faces the challenging transition to parenthood that is compounded by her husbandàdeployment.

Adapted from Case Study 2.3, (e Thompsons0remature birth)n Hutchison, E. D. (2019). Dimensions of human behavior: The changing life course(6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

In this Discussion, you consider a case study that portrays issues related to developmental challenges in infants.

• Hutchison, E. D. (2019). Dimensions of human behavior: The changing life course (56th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  • Chapter 2, ïnception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth(pp. 34-72)
• Alkire, S. (2002).  World Development, 30(2), 181°5.
• Tsiaris, A. (2010, December).  
• Post:
  • Identify two developmental challenges that Baby Boy Thompson may exhibit.
  • Explain how the dimensions of the person and environment perspective can be applied in this case.
  • Describe two practice skills the social worker can employ in working with Felicia and Paul.