These babies are too small and immature to suck, swallow, and breathe at the same time. These babies must be fed intravenously until they have developed these skills on their own. Most often, you can't hear them cry because of the tube in their throat, or they can't cry at all. These precious babies sleep all day and can't move much due to their undeveloped muscle tone.
These babies look very different than a full term baby. Their skin is wrinkled and a reddish-purple color. Their skin is so thin that you can see their blood vessels underneath. These babies haven't had time to put on any fat so they appear very thin. Their eyes are most likely closed and they have no lashes. However most babies born after 26 weeks do survive to 1 year ( about 80 % of those born after 26 weeks, and about 90% born at 27 weeks ).
These babies are subjected to a list of medical complications ranging form mild to severe. Preemies often are born anemic , which means they haven't had enough time in the womb to build up a supply of iron. Babies use this iron supply to make red blood cells after birth. I don't have to tell you how alarming anemia is.
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| My son at 1 month old |
Premature babies are constantly monitored for apnea. This is when your baby stops breathing for 15 seconds or more. As a first time mom this is one I don't think I would have been able to handle. This interruption in breathing is called apnea and is accompanied by a slow heart rate. If your baby stops breathing the nurse stimulates the baby by patting him or touching the soles of his feet.
The complications mentioned here are only two of the long list of complications. Hopefully your baby won't have all of them but just a couple is enough to frighten you. I will cover the list of complications later in another article.
My oldest son was a premature baby and I remember how terrified I was at the thought of taking care of him by myself. He was so tiny and I felt so clumsy with him in my arms. He was purple on one side of his body and a reddish color on the other side. It was as if someone had drawn a line right down the middle of his body. He was jaundiced and had to spend three weeks in the incubator. I had to breast feed him with tubes and IV lines stringing from him. I couldn't take him to my room so I had to breast feed him there in the NICU ( neonatal intensive care unit ). As soon as he was released from the incubator, his white blood cell count skyrocketed. We never knew the cause but they had to keep him in the NICU with an emergency spinal block and massive doses of intravenous antibiotics. The prognosis wasn't good. If the antibiotics didn't bring his white blood cell count down to normal, he would most likely die. I was so terrified and then, to make matters worse, my milk dried up due to all the stress. Once I was released from my room I lived in the visiting room with a blanket and smoothies from my dear mother-in-law. I used a breast pump to get as much mothers milk as possible to feed him.
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| My son at 2 months old |
As I open my new baby products online store I am reminded again and again about my sons traumatic entry into this world. Therefore I will be publishing more articles about preemies and how to care for them. We will cover some of a preemies complications throughout their development. Since parents are rarely prepared for the birth of a preemie, I will be carrying a line of preemie clothing as well as sleep wear. Come see me at CarolsBabyProducts.com
Great article. Look forward to more of similarity.
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