Premature baby - what to pay attention to?

25.06.2024

Premature baby - what to pay attention to?

03/28/2024

A premature baby is a baby born before 37 weeks.

Premature babies are characterized by:

  • Unstable body temperature (36.5 – 37.5 degrees, depends on the ambient temperature);
  • The skin is vulnerable, chemicals easily penetrate through it;
  • Hypotonia, hyporeflexia;The sucking reflex appears from 30-31 weeks, the swallowing reflex - from 33-34 weeks, coordinated sucking and swallowing - from 34-36 weeks.

Nursing:

When the child’s condition stabilizes, he breathes independently and digests food, he is transferred from intensive care to the second stage, where nursing and early rehabilitation continue. At this stage, mothers often hear many new diagnoses regarding their child. It is important here not to focus on this, but to work as a team with the doctor and thereby contribute to his recovery.

A premature baby develops at its own pace and its development should be assessed according to its corrected age for prematurity. Despite the fact that mothers will see a long list of incomprehensible diagnoses in the discharge summary, it should be remembered that many of them are removed over time.

The parent’s task is to undergo timely examinations with the necessary specialists to monitor the dynamics and timely detection of pathology for timely correction, which is as possible at an early stage.

Don't judge your baby based on the development of full-term peers!

According to modern research, the greatest influence on a child’s development is the family and environment. Remember, prematurity is a risk factor, and risk factors do not necessarily lead to developmental disorders!

Neurological developmental features :

To assess the correspondence of the physical development and neurological status of the child’s true maturity, the definition of “post-conceptual age” is used - this is gestational age + age in weeks after birth, or “corrected age” is the difference between the actual age in weeks and the weeks of gestation missing to full term. For example, a 6 month old baby born at 28 weeks should have the skills of a 3 month old baby.

Factors determining the recovery of neurological disorders:

  • The degree of brain damage;
  • The brain's ability to recover;
  • Rehabilitation and therapeutic measures

As a rule, at 3-4 months the child can hold his head up. If the child has not yet mastered this skill, then, as prescribed by the neurologist, professional massage begins. Until this time, the parents themselves do physical therapy with the baby at home, give a light massage, and lay the baby on his stomach before each feeding.

When organizing the rehabilitation of a child, the need for mental development should also be taken into account. In pursuit of mastering physical skills, do not forget to develop the child’s intelligence. After all, the psyche in the normal course of rehabilitation should recover faster than motor skills!

Remember! A neurologist is the main specialist of a premature baby in the first years of life, who observes the dynamics of the child’s development, gives permission for vaccination, assesses the need for professional massage, exercise therapy and other rehabilitation measures.

Nutrition of premature babies :

Breast milk is preferable in the diet of premature babies . To feed ultrapremature babies, it is necessary to use breast milk fortifiers, since these babies need a sufficient amount of “building material” for the maturation of all organs and systems.

If breastfeeding is not possible, then special “Pre” mixtures are used. When switching to the main mixture, it is recommended to stick to the line of one manufacturer, giving preference to mixtures with a low lactose content or based on partially hydrolyzed protein (comfort). A bottle-fed baby must be supplemented with water in the amount of one feeding per day.

The immature digestive system in premature babies leads to a number of disorders that can cause discomfort to the baby:

  • For constipation , it is necessary to give bottle-fed and mixed-fed children plenty of water and massage the abdomen.
  • Colic accompanies premature babies up to 4-6 months, sometimes later, until the intestines mature. Help: apply heat to the abdominal area, bring the legs towards the tummy, use simethicone or dimethicone.
  • Regurgitation is associated with immaturity of the sphincters. Children can burp up to a year, after the introduction of complementary foods - a little less often. Spitting up a teaspoon every day or spitting up like a fountain once a day may be normal for premature babies. The main thing is weight gain. Prevention: vertical position of the child (“column”) after feeding (up to 15-30 minutes), position in the crib at an angle of 45 degrees, use of an anti-reflux mixture (in agreement with the pediatrician).

The main criterion for problems with the digestive system is regular lack of body weight, frequent and profuse regurgitation. In this case, you need to consult a pediatrician and, if necessary, a gastroenterologist.

Neonatologist of the highest qualification category (head of department) of the pediatric department for newborns N.N. Weaver