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| Home > Baby Care > Special Babies
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| | Special Babies
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Premature Babies
 A baby is termed premature when he is born before term and weighs less than five and half pounds. He is physiologically underdeveloped. His look is also different from a term baby. His frame is small, limp, and frail; his skin is reddish and appears tissue paper thin; and he has little or no fatty tissue. His head is considerably larger than his body. His muscular system is not fully developed, with abundant lanugo covering his body. His toe and fingernail are not present, and his tiny ears are soft and stick to his head. His cry is feebler, and it is very difficult to pacify compared to a full-term infant.
A preterm baby`s systems develop fully when he is older since he did not get enough time to develop in his mother`s womb. He sucks weakly, and his swallow and gag reflexes are unreliable. Sometimes he has to be fed by a tube. Because of his unstable body temperature, often below normal, he is kept in the controlled environment of an isolette. His lungs are not fully developed giving rise to ir-regular, rapid, and often shallow breathing.. His breathing needs to be monitored closely, as he may be in need of oxygen and sometimes he has to be helped with breathing. His need for nutrients, especially calories, protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin E, may be greater; since he is not able to absorb food as efficiently as a full-term infant.
A baby born before term may be distressing and agonizing for you, but he needs your love all the more. Stroking and talking to your baby will be comforting for him, even if he is in the isolette. His special needs may keep him away form you but most modem hospitals want you to visit and care for him. You may express milk from your breast and feed him in a bottle with a special nipple or via a stomach tube if his suction is not efficient. Your milk is different from the milk of a mother of a full-term baby, and is especially suited to the nutritional needs of your premature infant. By feeding and touching him, when he is unwell, a bond develops and the baby identifies with you. You should not feel guilty or responsible for the premature birth your baby. You could not have averted it any way. The reasons of prematurity is not clear for 50% of the cases, and for the rest of the cases where the cause is known, the parents could have hardly done any thing to avoid premature birth.
Parent support groups provide valuable information and assist-ance to parents coping with a premature infant. These groups also try to listen to your problems and offer suggestions, not only that, they may even help you with clothing small enough for your baby. Since pre mature babies are small. Child birth education group, caregiver, or local hospital may offer more information on preterm babies.
Small sized term babies
Full term babies who weighed less than five and one-half pounds were termed premature in the past. Babies who are small in size and weight and born at term are more properly called small for gestational age. The causes for this condition are: an inadequate transfer of nu-trients across the placenta to the baby; some congenital and genetic malformations; and certain fetal infections, such as rubella and toxoplasmosis.
Postmature lnfants
A baby born well after the anticipated due date and exhibiting the following characteristics may be termed postmature infants: the absence of lanugo; little vernix caseosa; long fingernails and toenails; pale, peeling skin; and unusual alertness. In post-maturity, the amniotic fluid may be scant or stained with meconium. This condition is not observed commonly. In case your doctor suspects a postmature fetus, he or she will monitor the fetal heart beat; depending on the status he may induce labor before the beginning of spontaneous labor.
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