What do preemies look like

Even with an adjusted age, you will want to see him move forward in his development. For example, your child should progress from pulling himself up, to standing, and then to walking. When you watch him carefully, you will see ways he is growing well.

You will also know whether he needs more help. Remember to take your child to his recommended well-child health supervision visits. At each visit, your child's doctor will check his progress and ask you about the ways you see your child growing. See the next section, Developmental Milestones. Here is information about how babies and young children typically develop.

Examples of developmental milestones for ages 1 month to 6 years are listed. The developmental milestones are listed by month or year first because well-child visits are organized this way.

For a preterm baby, it is important to use the baby's adjusted age when tracking development until 2 years of age so that his growth and progress take into account that he was born early. What is your child's adjusted age? See milestone for the adjusted age in the next section. Shows signs of sensitivity to environment such as excessive crying, tremors, or excessive startles or need for extra support to handle activities of daily living.

As preterm babies get older, some of them may face ongoing physical problems such as asthma or cerebral palsy. They may also face developmental challenges such as difficulties paying attention or lack of motor control. This may be especially true for babies who were very small at birth. Once your child reaches school age, it will be important for you to work closely with his teacher and other school staff to identify any areas of concern.

They can also help you find the right resources for help. It has proteins that help fight infection. Most preemies can't feed straight from the breast or bottle at first. Mothers pump their milk and it's given to babies through a tube that goes through the nose or mouth and into the stomach.

If that is not an option, doctors may suggest giving the baby donor milk from a milk bank, which is safe. If you don't breast feed or pump milk, your baby will get formula. Preemies need more calories, proteins, and other nutrients than full-term babies do. So extra nutrients called fortifiers may be added to pumped milk or specially designed preterm formulas may be used to help your baby grow. Preemies are fed slowly because they can get necrotizing enterocolitis NEC , a serious intestinal problem that affects preemies.

Some babies who are very small or very sick get their nutrition through intravenous or IV — meaning "in the vein" feedings called total parenteral nutrition TPN. Doctors and dietitians watch the diets of preemies very carefully and make changes when needed to make sure the babies get the nutrients needed to grow.

Because their organs aren't fully ready to work on their own, preemies are at risk for health problems. Staff in the neonatal intensive care unit NICU might recommend a powder containing supplementary calcium and phosphorus that can be added to expressed breastmilk for premature babies. This helps their bones grow and strengthen. Sometimes a specially formulated and fortified formula milk can be used. Gentle exercises specially designed for premature babies — for example, bending and straightening their arms and legs — can help your baby gain weight and build stronger bones and larger muscles.

A hospital physiotherapist will probably do these special exercises with your baby to start with, while you learn how to do them. When you take your premature baby home, you can play games that encourage her to move her arms and legs.

When a premature baby is born, his skin might not be fully developed. It develops quickly, though. Skin has two very important functions.

In addition, some preterm babies may experience prolonged pauses in their breathing, known as apnea. Temperature control problems. Premature babies can lose body heat rapidly. They don't have the stored body fat of a full-term infant, and they can't generate enough heat to counteract what's lost through the surface of their bodies.

If body temperature dips too low, an abnormally low core body temperature hypothermia can result. Hypothermia in a premature baby can lead to breathing problems and low blood sugar levels. In addition, a premature infant may use up all of the energy gained from feedings just to stay warm. That's why smaller premature infants require additional heat from a warmer or an incubator until they're larger and able to maintain body temperature without assistance.

Blood problems. Premature babies are at risk of blood problems such as anemia and newborn jaundice. Anemia is a common condition in which the body doesn't have enough red blood cells. While all newborns experience a slow drop in red blood cell count during the first months of life, the decrease may be greater in premature babies.

Newborn jaundice is a yellow discoloration in a baby's skin and eyes that occurs because the baby's blood contains excess bilirubin, a yellow-colored substance, from the liver or red blood cells. While there are many causes of jaundice, it is more common in preterm babies. Although the exact cause of preterm birth is often unknown, there are some things that can be done to help women — especially those who have an increased risk — to reduce their risk of preterm birth, including:.

Cervical cerclage. This is a surgical procedure performed during pregnancy in women with a short cervix, or a history of cervical shortening that resulted in a preterm birth. During this procedure, the cervix is stitched closed with strong sutures that may provide extra support to the uterus. The sutures are removed when it's time to deliver the baby. Ask your doctor if you need to avoid vigorous activity during the remainder of your pregnancy. Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced.

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