The natural period of normal pregnancy is 38-40 weeks, but it often happens that under the influence of external or internal factors the baby is born much earlier. And if all newborns require love and constant care, then premature newborns need this a hundredfold more, because because of the early appearance of their body in many respects is not yet ripe for extrauterine life. Premature newborns are babies born in the period of 28-37 weeks. Depending on body weight, several degrees of prematurity are divided, children with a body weight of 1 to 1.5 kg are considered to be deeply premature, and less than 1 kg are extremely premature.
External signs of a premature baby are as follows:
- body weight 1-2,5 kg;
- height - 35-46 cm;
- disproportionate build:
- short legs and neck;
- The head is large;
- The navel is displaced to the groin.
- the skull is round, the seams of the skull and fontanel are open;
- the ears are soft and tightly pressed to the head;
- thin wrinkled skin;
- the body is covered with the original fuzz;
- there is no subcutaneous fat layer;
- nails are underdeveloped;
- the boys do not have testicles, the gap in the girls is gaping.
None of these signs separately indicates that the baby is premature, only their totality is taken into account.
Functional signs of a premature baby:
- lethargy;
- drowsiness;
- decreased muscle tone;
- poorly developed food reflexes;
- thermoregulation disorders;
- chaotic movements of the limbs;
- wincing;
- tremor of hands.
Exercising premature babies
The care of premature babies is carried out in two stages: in the maternity home and a special department, after which the child is transferred under the supervision of a polyclinic.
Throughout the world, "soft" nursing of premature babies is practiced, in which they create the most sparing conditions, with a minimum of painful manipulation and stress. Immediately after birth, a preterm baby is placed in sterile warm diapers to prevent his hypothermia. For the first few days these babies are held in special kuvezah with optimally selected conditions - temperature, humidity and oxygen content. Only those premature newborns are discharged from the maternity home, whose body weight at birth was more than 2 kg, while the rest are transferred to specialized institutions where the second stage of nursing takes place.
Development of premature infants
If a premature baby does not have any congenital malformations, then its development proceeds at a fairly rapid rate. Premature babies gain weight quickly, as if trying to catch up with their peers: by three months the weight of one and a half to two kilograms of the baby doubles, and by the year it increases 4-6 times. One-year-old preterm infants grow to 70-77 cm.
The first two months of life the premature baby moves little, quickly gets tired and spends most of the time in a dream. Starting from two months, the activity of the baby becomes larger, but the tension of the arms and legs increases. A child needs special exercises to relax his fingers.
The nervous system of the premature baby is immature, which is reflected in his behavior - periods of long sleep are replaced by excitation without cause, the kid is frightened by sharp sounds, changes in the situation. Any innovation, new people and even weather changes are given to premature babies heavily.
Due to the immaturity of the digestive system, preterm infants are immunocompromised, so they are more often and heavier sick. The psychomotor development of premature babies somewhat lags behind compared with full-term peers. To reduce this gap, parents need to ensure maximum care, as often as possible, try to take the baby in his arms, talk with him, give his love and warmth, because close contact is vital for premature babies.