Premature baby: what you need to know

Pregnancy is the most wonderful time for both mom and baby. The child is in the most comfortable conditions - completely protected from all troubles, always full and warm. Of course, many children do not want to leave their cozy "house" and remain in their mother's belly a little longer than expected. But it also happens that babies themselves are eager to be born. Why crumbs are born prematurely and how this can affect their future life - you will learn from this article.

Causes of premature babies

Establishing prematurity only according to the accepted norms of weight and height cannot be assessed as absolutely correct. Especially if the duration of pregnancy is difficult to determine. This method of systematization is used for the purpose of typing treatment and research, statistical data. There are babies born with impressive weight and height, but with obvious signs of immaturity, which is characteristic of premature babies. In practice, the broadest range of signs should be taken into account in order to assess the actual age of the baby. In general, babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy are considered premature.

Signs of prematurity:

• weak cry of a newborn;
• shallow, oppressed, irregular breathing;
• a small amount of subcutaneous fatty cover, especially if the skin is ruby, dry, wrinkled, abundantly covered with fluff;
• disclosed small and side fontanelles;
• the ears are soft and close to the head;
• the marigolds have not grown to the phalanges of the fingers;
• the umbilical cord is too low;
• underdeveloped genitals - in boys, the testicles should descend into the scrotum, in girls, large labia should form;
• movements are modest, little activity of the limbs;
• physical reflexes are reduced, may be absent, including sucking and breathing reflexes.

Reasons for the birth of children ahead of schedule:

1. Social conditions. Very young either elderly parents... In the first case, this is due to unplanned pregnancies. In the second, the body can no longer bear such a load as bearing a child.
2. Low cultural level of parents. Often, expectant mothers neglect the health of the fetus and do not want to give up bad habits. Also, not everyone conscientiously undergoes the necessary medical examinations. Remember, this is the first thing you need if your goal is to have a healthy baby. According to statistics, mothers who do not attend antenatal clinics during pregnancy have a 5 times higher mortality rate. Compared to conscientious moms.
3. Harmfulness at work is of great importance in not carrying, negative habits - smoking, hard manual labor. The negative impact on the health of the fetus is manifested by smoking not only of mothers, but also of fathers.
4. Diseases of the mother, infections and viruses during pregnancy. As well as unauthorized administration of medications, without the consent of a specialist.
5. Anemia, VSD, somatic diseases of a pregnant woman. Anomalies in the development of female genital organs.
6. Having abortions in the past.

Premature babies development

It is impossible to say immediately and unequivocally how a premature baby will develop. Because many factors influence its development.

What determines the development of a child born prematurely:

• the attitude of the parents;
• the quality of the baby's nutrition;
• the degree of care and attention to the child;
• the social status of the family.

As a rule, premature babies catch up with their peers in terms of height and weight by the year... But for this you need to closely monitor the work of each system of the child's body. There are no serious differences between premature babies and babies born on time. But outwardly, these kids are different.

External differences in premature babies:

1. The skin is wrinkled and more reddish.
2. The red skin is due to the fact that these babies did not have enough subcutaneous fat.
3. Incompletely formed skull.
4. Displacement of the large fontanelle.
5. The mastery of basic children's skills occurs somewhat later than usual.

How strong will the baby be fall behind from peers depends on how healthy the baby was born and what degree of prematurity he had. Of course, babies born as close as possible to the prescribed 40 weeks will be practically no different from others. Providing good health. And a baby born before the 30th week of pregnancy may be 3-4 months behind.

Premature baby norms

There are categories of premature babies, according to their birth weight:

• Grade 1 - gestation period 35-37 weeks, baby weight from 2 to 5.5 kg.
• Grade 2 - gestational age 32-34 weeks, birth weight from 1.5 to 2 kg.
• Grade 3, gestation period 29-31 weeks and the weight of the child is from 1 to 1.5 kg.
• 4 degree of prematurity is assigned to children born before 29 weeks and weighing up to 1 kg.

1. In the first month after birth, a premature baby is very vulnerable to bacteria and infections outside world. He's not ready yet confront them yourself.
2. Most often, babies born prematurely do not have a sucking-swallowing reflex. Therefore, feeding of such children usually takes place through a tube. But by the end of the first month, the reflex should be developed.
3. As a rule, premature babies are not active. But after 2-3 months, things are likely to change dramatically.
4. Since such a baby himself is not yet ready to breathe, at first he needs an oxygen tube.
5. A normally developing baby at 1 month of life is gaining little weights... But by the end of the second, he is making up for lost time.
6. Such babies cannot yet warm themselves, therefore they are in dire need of a normal temperature regime of the air around them. About 24 degrees.
7. At the age of 4 months, these babies begin to make sounds and raise their heads. From this time on, you can start a light massage. Be sure to give air baths.
8. From 5 months, babies are interested in toys... They begin to take them in handles. Since that month, they have been catching up more and more with the development of ordinary children.

Remember that every child is unique and he also develops in his own way. If the baby does not meet the generally accepted norms, but no pathologies are observed, it means that his time has not come yet.

Mix for premature babies

The mixture for lightweight and premature babies is easy to distinguish - it has the PRE marking in the name. A distinctive feature of such food is the increased fat content. Since small babies need a little more nutrients, than usual. The earlier the baby is born, the greater his need for protein and fats.

If you feed the "early" baby with the usual formula, then weight gain and the growth of adipose tissue will occur slowly.

The optimal consumption is considered to be 3-4 g of protein and 6-6.5 g of fat per day. This will ensure the full development of the baby. If these indicators are increased, metabolic disorders are possible. Moreover, proteins must necessarily be whey. Other children's bodies are simply not able to assimilate.

How often and during what period to feed the baby with a mixture - the doctors will tell you. Depending on how quickly the baby gains the desired weight. It is worth noting that other formulas should be available for children weighing less than 1.8 kg. This type of food is offered only by Similak and Nutrilon. The rest of the companies produce a mixture for children weighing from 1.8-2 kg.

Each company that produces formula for baby food has in its assortment a proposal for low-weight babies. And the choice of the mixture depends only on medical prescriptions, the child's reaction to nutrition and the financial capabilities of the parents.

Nursing premature babies

At first, such a child must be in intensive care. In a special chamber, where the required temperature, humidity is observed and there is an oxygen tube. What specific time the child will have to be there - only experts can say.

As soon as the baby learns to breathe on his own, he is transferred to the intensive care unit. All the conditions for him will also be supported there.

A premature baby must constantly undergo all kinds of medical checks. This measure is needed to timely identify possible deviations and their speediest correction.

Premature baby care

The whole difficulty of caring for such a baby is that the child is not yet prepared for life. apart from mom... His nervous system is not yet strong enough for this.

Babies born ahead of schedule need more attention from their parents than others. They need to organize the most suitable conditions, unconditionally love and believe that they can catch up with their peers. Premature babies are the same children, just wanted to see the white light a little earlier.