The care of premature babies should extend beyond their early years
When a boy arrives in this world before time, this one faces numerous dangers since it has not finished its development in the maternal womb. Currently, despite the increase in gynecological control, the birth rate premature It has grown between 8 and 10%. These babies need more care to prevent all the risks that threaten them.
Care that should be maintained beyond their first years of life since the particularities that these children have make them more inclined to suffer some infections and other conditions. This is claimed by several experts of the UCI Neonatal Hospital Montepríncipe de Madrid.
Care after discharge
Usually babies premature they are discharged after they reach 35-36 weeks of age and have reached 2,000 grams of weight. These specialists indicate that although the child leaves the hospital center, he is not yet neurologically developed as a child born at term. This may mean that their signals to ask for food or to indicate that they are sleepy are very difficult for parents to interpret.
The lower neuronal development of preterm infants can also cause them to delay acquiring feeding and sleep routines. Usually they usually sleep more than the 16-18 hours that rest the children who have fulfilled the babies that have fulfilled the gestation periods. In this sense, specialists remember the need to ensure a safe position: face up and no toys around.
To guarantee the safety of these babies, the temperature of the house must be above 22 usual degrees Since the premature child because of its low weight, and greater body surface in relation to its fat, may need more support to maintain heat. This will prevent part of the calories from food being used to maintain that temperature and not to gain kilos.
Evolution of premature babies
These care of premature babies should be extended beyond of the first years of the child's life. Although this stage is crucial to finish the development that did not take place in the mother's womb, in the future these little ones will also need support from their relatives and other specialists to solve possible problems derived from their condition.
These children must be followed closely by a doctor who evaluates their development year after year to analyze possible problems. In this way, issues that could interfere with their intellectual development and make them fall behind their classmates at school can be noticed early.
"It is important know in detail these problems, both in the medium and long term, update follow-up programs for premature children and allocate the necessary health and educational resources to cover their needs ", conclude these specialists.
Damián Montero
