The Premature Newborn

A premature infant's health at birth is influenced by many things, including:

• Gestational age at birth.
• Weight at birth.
• Maternal illness and medical treatment during pregnancy.
• Congenital birth defects.

Most infants born at 36 and 37 weeks' gestation are mature enough to be discharged from the hospital with the mother. But many premature infants need care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Hospital care will be needed for:

• Underdeveloped lungs.
• Inability to breathe continuously (apnea of prematurity).
• Inability to maintain body heat.
• Inability to feed orally.

While in the NICU or at home, many premature infants also need treatment for jaundice, infection, and anemia.

The Sick Premature Infant

Many premature infants are resilient and surprise everyone by overcoming great odds. Expect that your infant can progress for several days but may then have a medical setback.

Premature infants are more likely than others to get an infection. And organs that have not had time to mature can cause a number of problems.

The more premature a newborn is, the greater is the baby's risk of having medical problems. Infants who have reached their 32nd week of development before birth are less at risk than those who are born earlier.

Infants born at 23 to 26 weeks' gestation are extremely underdeveloped and have a much higher risk of death or disability. Parents of these infants are likely to be faced with difficult medical decisions.