Premature birth can have short-term and long-term effects on you and your baby. The earlier your baby is born, the more vulnerable they are to health problems.
How premature birth affects your baby
If your baby is born early, your healthcare team will talk to you about the risks to your baby and any treatments that can help.
Babies born early may need:
- oxygen to help them breathe - their lungs may not be developed, especially if they were born at 27 weeks or earlier
- care in an incubator - this is a special type of cot to keep them warm
- to be tube fed if their suck reflex is not developed - the tube may go directly into their tummy
- antibiotics to fight off any infections or potential infections
- close monitoring
Neonatal care for premature babies
Your baby may need to be cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or a special care baby unit (SCBU).
This means they might be moved to a different hospital with an NICU.
They may stay there until they're strong enough to cope.
What your premature baby may look like
Your baby may be very small, depending on how early they were born.
Their skin may be translucent (see-through) and not have any fatty tissue under it. Their body may be covered with a fine, downy hair called lanugo.
They may not be able to:
- open their eyes
- cry
How premature birth affects parents
Having a baby early can be a shock to you, your partner and your family. You may feel unprepared and anxious about your baby’s arrival. You'll also be trying to recover from giving birth.
Your obstetricians, midwives and paediatricians will be supportive. Keep a list of questions that you want to ask when you see them.
Helping your premature baby
Your healthcare team will show you how to look after your baby. Spend as much time as you can with your baby. Try to rest and eat healthily.
Breastfeeding is very helpful for your baby. Breast milk is the best source of nourishment. Premature babies can find formula hard to digest.
A midwife or lactation consultant in the hospital will be able to show you how to express breast milk for your baby.
Effect on future pregnancies
If you've been through premature labour before, there's a greater chance you'll have premature labour again. But generally you're more likely to have a baby at full term than prematurely.
If you get pregnant again you'll need to see an obstetrician. Seeing them as early as possible during the pregnancy is important so you can discuss any extra treatment or monitoring that you may need.
Births before 24 weeks of pregnancy
Some babies are born too early in pregnancy to survive.
Babies born before 22 weeks are so small that their lungs and other organs are not developed enough to live for more than a few minutes after they are born.
Some of these babies die before or during birth. Some babies may show signs of life for a short time after birth.
It may be possible for some babies born at 22 or 23 weeks to survive, but this is not always the case.
If a baby has not developed enough to live a healthy life, they will need intensive care to survive.
Parents and doctors may together decide to give comfort care instead and allow the baby to die. The doctors can then make the baby comfortable so they do not feel pain. The parents can hold their baby and spend time with them.
Babies who survive birth may show signs of life such as:
- a clearly visible heartbeat
- breathing or gasps
- movement of their limbs
How long a baby show these signs is hard to predict. It may only be a few minutes or up to a few hours.
Not all movements in babies born this early are signs of life. Some babies who die shortly before birth may show brief reflex movements (for example, flickering movements of their chest wall). This can last less than a minute.
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