Premature Baby Growth
Parents of premature baby should keep a close watch on his development. Generally a premature child is kept in a specialized care unit called NICU as soon as he is born. NICU is neonatal intensive care unit. The child is monitored closely and he may need to be placed in an incubator, fed through nasal tube and intravenous solutions. He may also require oxygen for breathing. In NICU the child’s condition and vital data such as pulse, heart rate and respiratory rate, and oxygen level, blood pressure are closely monitored by the doctors.
After the baby becomes stable, the doctor will determine the time for discharge of the baby from the NICU and the hospital. Some factors he will look upon is whether the baby is able to feed by mouth, he is gaining weight. The body temperature should remain consistent. And he does not require any medicines.
Premature Child Development Chart
The growth chart of premature baby is more accurate than a full term baby chart. The development is based on the estimated time of the due date and not the actual time when he is born.
Immunization schedule of the premature baby is decided according to his chronological age and not his gestational age.
Premature Babies Long Term Effects
Premature baby long term effects can be cognitive disabilities. They have increased risk of dying in late childhood as compared to healthy babies. The chances of recurrent infection in the early childhood are high in premature baby.
It is also observed that the premature child will face learning and developmental problems, as he goes to school compared to his peers who were born full term.