Possible consequences of premature birth

Problems and consequences for the premature baby

Children who are born prematurely often experience health problems immediately after birth. This is primarily due to the incomplete development and maturation of the internal organs. Depending on the time of the premature birth, the following problems can arise:

• Breathing: If the lungs are still immature, functional disorders can occur. An immature breathing reflex can lead to respiratory arrest in premature babies.
• Metabolism: The immature liver cannot yet properly process toxins, so pronounced neonatal jaundice can occur.
• Immune system: The child’s immune system is still developing. This significantly increases the risk of infection in premature babies.
• Body temperature: The system for regulating body temperature is not yet fully developed. Since preterm babies often have not yet developed the ability to sweat when they are too warm, they can easily overheat. But the opposite is also not improbable. Since their musculature is still too weak to warm the body by shaking, they can easily cool down.
• Nutrition: Since the children are still too weak to suckle, the children often cannot be breastfed. Therefore, in addition to their already weak immune system, they lack important antibodies that are contained in breast milk. Feeding with a bottle or a stomach tube at the beginning can also lead to drinking disorders later if the premature baby is still supposed to be breastfed.
• Bleeding: Since the vessels are still very thin, cerebral or other bleeding can occur in some cases.

Possible late effects of premature birth

With the new advances in medicine, the chances of survival of prematurely born children are constantly increasing, but the probability of physical or cognitive impairments is higher in them than in full-term babies.

• According to studies, the risk of developing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ( ADHD ) is greater in preterm babies than in full-term babies. Such impairments are found in four out of five children born before the 26th week of pregnancy.
• Children born prematurely often have asthmatic diseases . There are also isolated motor disorders and a low intelligence quotient.
• It was also proven that people who were born prematurely had fewer offspring than those who were born mature. This suggests poorer fertility , for example because the sexual organs were not sufficiently developed when the child was born.
• For women, the risk of giving birth to a premature baby is higher if they were born prematurely themselves.
• Another possible late consequence is autism . Learning disabilities such as dyslexia or arithmetic weaknesses have also been observed.
• Mental disorders should also be mentioned as possible consequences of premature birth. These include depression or certain abnormal behavior .

Of course, not all premature babies are affected by such consequences, but the risk is increased. It is therefore important that a pregnancy is maintained for as long as possible in order to give the child a good start in life.

Help through physical contact

As a mother, you too can make a major contribution to helping the little baby get off to a good start in life. Physical contact and a close bond are extremely important for the development of a preemie. In order to establish physical contact with the baby, you parents lay it naked on your unclothed chest for one or even several hours a day. This stimulates the baby’s senses and promotes parent-child bonding.