What is a premature baby?

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It is considered as ideal pregnancy that lasts 40 weeks from the first day of the last menstruation. Thus, we will classify babies into different groups based on their birth week:

  • Premature baby: the one born before week 37. We'll talk about him next.
  • Full-term baby: one born between week 37-42 of pregnancy.
  • Post-mature baby: the one born after week 42.

Below you have an index with all the points that we will discuss in this article.

Index

What is a premature baby ?: Causes, care and complications

What are premature babies?

A premature baby is one born before 37 weeks of gestation as a result of a delivery that occurs earlier than expected.

It represents between 8 and 12% of all births. Formerly it was considered one of the main causes of infant mortality but nowadays its survival is increasing, reaching 80%.

Those born between weeks 35 and 37 of pregnancy, most likely do not qualify as premature, but simply "late preterm" and may not need to be admitted to an intensive care unit. However, it is important to observe them with special attention.

Premature baby

A premature baby differs from a full-term baby mainly because of the following characteristics:

  • Large head, low birth weight (<2.5kg) and very poor body mass.
  • Skin smooth, thin, bright and almost translucent where you can easily see some veins and arteries.
  • Soft and flexible ear cartilage.
  • Palms of the hands and soles of the feet reddened and with few grooves.
  • Presence of hair on the body (lanugo).
  • Low body temperature
  • Problems breathing due to immature lungs and risk of pulmonary hemorrhage.
  • Weeping weak
  • Jaundice and risk of hypoglycemia.
  • Weak suction and swallowing
  • Undeveloped genitalia: enlarged clitoris in girls and small scrotum in boys.


Symptoms of premature birth

There are some symptoms that could alert the mother to a possible premature birth. The main ones are:

  • Have four or more contractions in one hour before the 37th week of pregnancy.
  • Loss of amniotic fluid through the vagina, which may indicate premature rupture of the membranes that protect the baby.
  • Pressure in the pelvis or sensation of weight, which may be indicative that the baby is coming down the birth canal.
  • Menstrual cramps, abdominal or back pain and even vaginal bleeding

In case the expectant mother feels any of these symptoms, she should go immediately to the hospital.



Problems of a premature baby

A fetus experiences the greatest growth during the last 8 weeks of pregnancy. In the first 32 weeks it acquires 1/3 of the total weight and in the last 8 weeks it acquires the remaining 2/3. And the same happens with the maturation of the fetal organs, being necessary the last 8 weeks of gestation to complete the maturation.

Premature baby and risks

This type of baby can have long-term effects but it is impossible to predict the clinical outcome in the future of a baby based on gestational age or birth weight.

Thus, the greater the risks of diseases of the baby the smaller and immature it is. The respiratory, nervous, digestive, renal, immunological and vision systems may be compromised; being the respiratory one of the most affected.










tubal cannulation in (Spain)

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