What Are Some Key Challenges That Premature Babies Face In Their First Year?

The first year of birth for premature babies brings about unique health challenges. As such, parents have to consistently monitor their health and take them to medical professionals to ensure their development and health takes shape in a healthy way.

Challenges of premature birth: It is not easy to take care of a premature baby, who is born a little too early -- long before the gestation period comes to a natural end. Children born prematurely are likely to experience several health issues in the initial period, which requires parents to be mentally and emotionally strong, and aware as to what they have to do to ensure that their little one gets to live a healthy life and meet developmental milestones. Citing the example of a baby who was born at just 28 weeks, as opposed to full-term babies that are born at 38-40 weeks, Dr Jesal Sheth, a senior consultant - neonatology and paediatrics at Fortis Hospital Mulund said that the baby weighed just 1.1 kg, whereas most babies born full-term weigh anywhere between 2.5 kg to 3.5 kg.

"The baby worried his parents and the doctor, especially since he developed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) due to premature birth. To treat it, doctors opted for pulmonary surfactant replacement, and respiratory support in the form of mechanical ventilation. Pulmonary surfactant is found in the lungs, and it works as a lubricant to ensure it keeps functioning properly. Replacement surfactant has to be injected into the baby's lungs if the organ lacks enough natural surfactant, to keep it from collapsing," the doctor explained.

According to the doctor, this particular baby also suffered from pneumothorax -- a condition in which air gets trapped between the lungs and the chest wall. His situation was further complicated as he was underweight.

"He fought these challenges for 45 days at the NICU, and his condition began to improve under the care and guidance of doctors, who also provided a lactation consultation to his mother to help him gain weight," Dr Sheth said.

Know More About Premature Births

The doctor explained that premature births are not rare. It is, however, extremely important that a premature newborn receives the medical care they need to increase their chances of survival and develop normally as they grow. The first year of their life can be challenging and it requires careful management and adequate support, Dr Sheth pointed out.

Most premature babies, he added -- particularly those who are born below the birth weight of 2.5 kg or gestational age of 36 weeks -- may need to be admitted to an NICU for specialised care and monitoring, as they may develop the following issues:

Breathing problems: These babies can have issues with breathing because of underdeveloped lungs. This is known as RDS, and is seen in many premature births.
Heart problems: Premature births can cause patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), which is an opening between two very critical blood vessels -- the aorta and the pulmonary artery. In many cases it closes on its own, but if it does not, a surgical intervention may be needed.
Brain problems: Like, intraventricular hemorrhages and periventricular leukomalacia.
Infection: Like, sepsis.
Digestion problems: Like, necrotizing enterocolitis.
Bone problems: Like osteopenia.
Vision problems: As they grow, premature infants might develop eye issues like retinopathy of prematurity, which causes the blood vessels in the eyes to swell, impacting the retina. Timely check-ups with an ophthalmologist must be done.