premature baby

Premature labor and delivery is the #1 reason for newborn death. You should call the doctor or go to the hospital if you have any of these symptoms or signs.

Did you know that music can be medicinal in nature for premature babies
(a.k.a. premies)? It’s pretty incredible to realize that someone so
young can respond positively to music.

A study in the Archives of Diseases in childhood reports a possible new
treatment for increasing mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) in preterm
infants. Doctors administered tocolytic indomethacin to 18 mothers in
preterm labor.

Researchers from the Prince of Wales Hospital recently published a study in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health revealing specific viruses and prevalence of infection in infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU).

Feeding tube placement in preterm and/or low birth weight infants is
crucial to comfort and overall health. Nasal tubes can interfere with
proper breathing and respiration while oral tubes are more likely to
cause irritation or become displaced during hospitalization.

Researchers have recently published a small-scale study into the
possibility of using infrared technology to track and record changes in
premature infant body temperatures without coming in contact with skin.

Researchers from the Universidade Federal do Parana have reported
cases of tooth defects in neonates intubated soon after birth. All
infants included in the study were intubated in the hospital after
preterm delivery - prior to the 35th week gestation.

A new report published in the Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
examines the common characteristics of infants admitted to neonatal
units for hypoglycemia to give medical professionals a set of guidelines
or common factors in infants affected by the condition.

According to researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at Peking
University Third Hospital, serum procalcitonin levels reach peak levels
and decline to normal levels within 96 hours of birth for most infants,
including premature infants.

Researchers from the University of York recently published a study in
the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review on the implications of
fortifying breast milk to speed up growth and facilitate
neurodevelopment in preterm infants.

Researchers from the Stollery Children's Hospital recently published a
study in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews on the potential
effect of using the drug Hydralazine to prevent such deaths.

I brought my nephew to the zoo the other day, and as I wandered through
the section that housed the new baby animals with their mothers, it got
me to thinking about how differently most mother mammals interact with
their newborns than human mothers.

Very low birth weight (VLBW) infants are typically born premature.
If the fetus remained in utero for the duration of pregnancy, weight
gain would have increased during the last few weeks.

The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is where premature and
special needs neonates spend the first days, weeks or months of their
new lives.

Researchers recently
published a study in the journal Science Translational Medicine
regarding a possible link between brain development and slower growth in
preterm infants.

Researchers from the University of Murcia, in Spain, recently published a
study revealing the differences between the level of polyamines in the
breast milk of mothers born to preterm infants and the breast milk of
mothers with infants born term.

According to researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences, paladai (beaked receptacle) feeding
can be affective in preterm infants as young as 30 weeks
postconceptional age (PCA).

Preterm babies cannot come home right away. Usually, they must stay in
the hospital until their doctor decides that they are strong enough to
go home with mom and dad and start their lives.

There are many factors that might cause you to have a premature baby. In some cases, delivering your baby preterm could be completely out of your control and dictated by external factors.

Complications occur more often in infants born small for gestational
age (SGA). Some complications require minimal medical intervention,
while others could be cause for extreme concern.

Anna Faris and husband Chris Pratt are thrilled to welcome their first child, a boy, into the world.

With two of my four children born premature, I am pretty stoked about a
new report in Pediatrics – a medical journal about increasing survival
rates among infants born premature.

Being born low birth weight is often associated with prematurity. If
your infant was born full term with no complications, but weighed less
than 5.5 pounds, the term low birth weight may be used, but special care
considerations and programs will not apply, in most cases.

Small for gestational age is a medical term used to describe the weight
and gestational age of an infant. Just because an infant is small for
gestational age doesn’t mean extra care is needed or that the infant
will have long-term medical issues.

When parents give birth to a small for gestational age (SGA)  infant it can be a
scary experience. That tiny little bundle of joy may need additional
care in the hospital before being released and some of that care may
extend months or years into the future, but extra care is not always
needed.

Low birth weight is defined as an infant weighing less than 2,500 grams
or about 5.5 pounds. Low birth weight infants can be born at any time
during gestation so not all cases involve premature delivery.

A large for gestational age infant is born weighing more than 90% of all
other infants born at the same gestational age. For instance, if an
infant is born at 37 weeks weighing in excess of 10 pounds, that infant
is termed large for gestational age.

Premature infants are born before the 37th week gestation.
The earlier an infant is born, the greater the chance special care will
be required before the infant is discharged from the hospital.

Infants born weighing less than 2,500 grams or 5.5 pounds are considered
low birth weight. Some low birth weight infants are born premature
while others are born on-time, but still weigh less than average.

One of the first things I remember feeling after my twins came home from
the hospital was fatigue. That fatigue moved into utter exhaustion very
quickly as I was determined not to force them on the same sleeping
schedule.