Premature birth is also known as preterm birth. Babies born less than 37 weeks of gestational period are usually known to have premature birth. Such babies are called premmies or preemies. The infants born prematurely have a greater risk of developing various kinds of health problems. The earlier a baby is born the greater is the risk. However, premature birth has lessened greatly and now less than 1% of babies are born premature.
Complications of Premature Birth
- Babies born earlier than 28 weeks of gestation: Phenotypically these babies are too immature to suckle swallow and breathe simultaneously. They have wrinkled reddish purple skin colour, with prominent blood vessels underneath. They generally do not have eyelashes, and their eyes are closed. Fat development is often incomplete and face and body are found to be covered in lanugo (soft body hair). They weigh much less than the full term babies, and require serious mechanical and medical assistance to breathe and are prone to developing more medical complications. In extreme cases the babies might survive only about 1 year (in case when the baby is born before 26 weeks of gestation).
- Babies born in between 28 to 31 weeks of gestation: Tube feeding is often required in this case, although a few can be breastfed. These babies are also prone to several medical complications, since they have very low weight at the time of birth. They often show irritability in that they move often with jerky movements.
Take proper pregnancy digestion medicine that helps you relieve the morning sickness that you might be experiencing. Be careful to take medicines that are safe to use during pregnancy. Many medicines can also cause premature birth.
- Babies born at 32 to 33 weeks of gestation: These babies might have breathing problems in few cases where bottle-feeding can be a cure. However the mortality rate is very high, and they can be breastfed and even bottle fed. But they still remain at a higher risk of developing learning and behavioural problems at a later stage.
Epileptic mothers can also become pregnant, although with the proper and maintained use of epilepsy medicine during pregnancy.
- Babies born at 34 to 36 weeks of gestation: These babies are also known as late preterm infants. Although they are born generally healthier than the babies born earlier than 34 weeks, still these babies appear thinner than the full term ones. It is often found that these babies are at a greater risk of medical problems like breathing and feeding problems, jaundice and even difficulty regulating the body temperature. However, the problems are generally mild and can be recovered quickly and easily. Subtle learning and behavioural problems are known to occur in some cases.
Conclusion:
Unfortunately, the exact cause of preterm delivery is unknown and varies from individual to individual. However, mothers who have a high chance of preterm delivery are prescribed progesterone hormone to be taken during pregnancy to avoid preterm birth.