Premature infant

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Premature infant

Alternative Names:

Preterm infant; Preemie
Treatment:

When premature labor develops and cannot be stopped by medical intervention, plans for appropriate management of a premature baby and the mother are made, which may involve transport of the mother to a center with facilities to care for premature infants, i.e. a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In some cases, steroids may be given to the mother in order to facilitate lung maturity in the premature infant.

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To assure support of the respiratory and cardiac systems and anticipate other common problems associated with prematurity, immediate evaluation and, if necessary, resuscitation takes place after delivery. The infant will be admitted to or transported to a high-risk nursery with personnel trained in the care of premature infants.

The infant is placed under a warmer or in an isolette with controlled temperatures where careful observation and care can be given.

Feeding may be administered by inserting a tube into the stomach, since infants are usually unable to coordinate sucking and swallowing before 34 weeks gestation. Intravenous feeding may be indicated in extremely premature infants.

Depending on the degree of prematurity, the infant may not start breathing after birth, or respiratory efforts may be inadequate to expand the chest and deliver oxygen to the infant's body. In such cases, a breathing tube is inserted into the infant's trachea, and artificial breathing is delivered by a respirator. Supplemental oxygen is given. (See respiratory distress syndrome.)

Nursery care is needed until the infant is able to take oral feedings, maintain body temperature, and achieve a body weight of about 5 pounds. However, other problems may complicate treatment, especially for very small infants, which could prolong the hospital stay.

Support Groups:

There are multiple support groups for parents of premature babies. Ask the social worker in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Expectations (prognosis):

Prematurity was formerly a major cause of infant deaths. Improved medical and nursing techniques have increased the survival of premature infants. A greater chance of survival is associated with increasing length of the pregnancy. Of babies born at 28 weeks, approximately 80% survive.

Prematurity is not without long-term effects. A large proportion of premature infants have medical problems that persist into childhood or are permanent. As a rule, the more premature an infant, and the smaller the birth weight, the greater the risk of complications. It must be stressed, however, that it is impossible to predict the long-term outcome for an individual baby merely on the basis of gestational age or birth weight.

Complications: