Baby Care and Parenting Tips » preemie

What Is A Preemie?

admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:11:47 +0000

“Preemie” is the common term used when referring to a premature baby. The dictionary definition of a preemie is “a prematurely born infant”. A preemie is born before 37 weeks gestation while a full term baby is born at 37 weeks or after. Preemies require a very different start in life, and this can vary dramatically depending on the level of prematurity. Micropreemie and preemie are the two terms used to help define the degree of prematurity.
To an NICU medical professional, a micropreemie is defined as a baby that is under 1 ¾ pounds (between 700-800 grams) and is generally born before 26 weeks gestation, but most people prefer to loosen this term up to include any baby under 3 pounds (1500 grams) or under 29 weeks gestation. Micropreemies require a lot of medical attention in order to survive, and many more micropreemies are surviving than ever before in history. The statistics for the survival of a micropreemie can range from 10-80%.
A micropreemie born before 23 weeks gestation has no chance of survival to 10%. Every day inside the mother increases the chances of survival for a micropreemie, and every week is a major significance continuing to push that percentage higher. This also lowers the numbers of short and long term health risks.
Some of the many difficulties that a micropreemie experiences are immature lungs, an underdeveloped digestive system, cerebral hemorrhaging, high risk of infection, incomplete feeding reflexes, severe anemia, neurological delays, physical handicaps, and long term health issues. Because of so many problems associated with being a micropreemie, medical intervention to keep micropreemies alive include biliblankets, blood pressure monitors, cardiac monitors, endotracheal tubes, isolettes, intravenous pumps & tubes, nasal CPAPs, nasal gastric tubes, nasal prongs, oxyhoods, oxygen saturation monitors, phototherapy lights, pulse oximeters, respiratory monitors, synthetic surfactant, temperature probes, UACs, ultrasounds, UVCs, and ventilators. So much more information is being made available to parents of micropreemies than ever before, allowing parents the opportunity to educate themselves on their micropreemie’s needs.
The technical term for preemie is defined as a baby that is under 5 ½ pounds (2500 grams), though the general public chooses to call any baby under 7 pounds (3000 grams) a preemie. This is partially due to the fact that it is difficult to find clothing that fits these babies unless shopping at preemie stores for preemie sizes, so some parents refer to their little baby as a preemie. Another reason is that many people are uninformed about the definition of prematurity.
Statistics for preemie survival is greater than 90%. The medical requirements for preemies tends to be a lot less demanding than those of their micropreemie counterparts. However, it can still be a precarious time and many preemies may still be on much of the medical equipment that micropreemies need. A preemie is weaned off of this equipment as soon as she strong enough or is capable of handling many bodily functions herself, yet, many times a preemie seems to go back and forth for a little while.
As a preemie begins to steadily get stronger and medical needs lessen, it is soon time to go home. Many a preemie has been sent home with medical equipment that their parents have been trained to use in case of an emergency. This is a scary time and an exciting time for parents because they are now in control, not quite sure if they can handle emergencies but desperately wanting to get down to the “normal” part of life, raising their preemie. These resilient, warrior-parents do quite well continuing to fight for their baby and are very in-tune to even the smallest details.
Many preemies continue to have health issues that they struggle with for the rest of their lives. However, as technology advances, some of these problems can be controlled with surgery, medication, and other interventions. This is a preemie!

premature baby in nicu going home, yippee preemie baby going home

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:11:15 +0000

premature baby in nicu going home, yippee preemie baby going home

Before being discharged from the hospital, Your premature baby must meet several basic requirements to ensure good health and fewer medical problems. Some Nicu wards require a minimum weight for discharge, but more often the NICU staff will evaluate the baby on these three most important criteria:
1. Can the baby maintain body temperature in an open crib for at least 24-48 hours, depending on how premature the baby was at birth?
2. Can the baby take all feedings by bottle or breast without supplemental tube feedings?
3. Can the baby gain weight steadily?
Going Home and preparation for the homecoming.

Well you have baby clothes for the hospital which you have been using so what about specialist equipment. Here are just a few add ons to give your preemie baby a good head start you can use. A Tiny traveller you put it in car seat remember car seats are not made for premature babies so a tiny traveller fits snug inside allowing straps to be altered and baby is fully supported without unnecessary bangs and jolts to the head when traveling in the car.
If you are not breast feeding then buy smaller sized preemie teats you can get these with bottles such as Dr brown.A preemie sized dummy/ pacifier if you are going to allow your baby to have one.It will help your baby settle, a newborn sized dummy can make your baby gag. A warm coat and hat.

Long term problems at home for premature babies.

Each baby is different and has different care needs. Not all preemie babies will have problems here are just a few to give you a better understanding of what does effect preemie babies.

Apnea. Premature infants commonly have episodes of apnea, or pauses in breathing, that improve as they mature. Babies will not be discharged if the apnea causes a slow heart rate or a change in color. However, some nurseries send infants home on apnea monitors if the infants have mild apnea that does not cause a change in color or heart rate or require stimulation to make the baby breathe again. Other nurseries may monitor preemies until the breathing pattern reaches maturity
Other breathing problems. Preemies commonly have respiratory difficulties and need supplemental oxygen or a mechanical ventilator. Most recover and do not require supplemental oxygen by the time they graduate from the NICU. However, some develop a more chronic lung condition called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which involves scarring and inflammation in the lungs. Infants with BPD may need supplemental oxygen and medications for prolonged periods even after discharge. They can be sent home on oxygen or medications to help their lungs function better.

If your baby will need oxygen after leaving the hospital, equipment for administering it at home and in transit will be coordinated before discharge. Infections. Like other organ systems, the immune system of a premature infant does not function as well as that of older kids or adults. This places premature babies at risk for contracting infections (especially viral ones) after discharge.

Although preemies can become infected with many different viruses, they’re particularly vulnerable to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common viral infection in young kids that’s often mistaken for a cold or the flu. Although RSV causes few problems in adults and older kids, in preemies it can lead to severe illness, breathing problems, or even death, and is a common cause for rehospitalization of preemies.

Friends and family visits. Everyone will want to share in the good news that baby is finally at home but…

1. Never let anyone visit if they have an infection or virus. you are going to have to watch out now the last thing you need is for baby to be whisked back in hospital isn’t it.

2. No smoking around baby at all.

3.If any one smokes outside get them to wash their hands before being allowed to hold your tiny baby.

4. Don’t feel bad when parents with other preemies stop you in the street and start to say oh my baby sitting up now, is walking now, is talking now.Your baby is an individual and has come though many hurdles to get this far he or she will catch up eventually .

For premature baby products with choices galore visit the Cheeky Chums store at http://cheekychumsonline.co.uk

Qualified Baby and Early Years specialist.T.D.L.B D32+D33 Assessor.Owner of Cheeky Chums
Cheeky Chums the Premature Baby Store, plus more
For choices galore visit the cheeky chums store at http://cheekychumsonline.co.uk

Milestones your preemie must meet before being discharged from the NICU

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:22:13 +0000

The first thing that I was concerned about other than the size of my child was the fact that she was on 2lpm supplemental oxygen. She was breathing on her own which I was told was very good and within a couple of days she was taken off of the oxygen. That is one of the main requirements to being allowed to bring your baby home, your baby must be breathing on his or her own.
About the final milestone we met was the weight requirement. Now this is one of those black and white areas I was talking about. Samaiyah was born at 2lbs. 12oz. and the hospital likes the baby to be 5lbs. before being discharged. she was just over 4lbs. but since she was doing so well she was allowed to come home after all the other milestones were met.
Another requirement is for the baby to be able to maintain her body temperature. First they will be remain in their incubator and the temperature will be turned off and the baby will be monitored to see if their body temperature will remain steady and at the proper level. After a day or two if the baby is doing well they will move her to an open crib and then the fun begins because you are allowed to hold and interact with them pretty much all you want.
Also your baby must be taking all of her feedings by mouth. That means graduating from the feeding tube, learning to suck a bottle and not to breath while they are eating. Preemies can expirate the formula into their lungs because their bodies have not learned to hold their breath while drinking.
When it came down to the last test, the car seat test, we had to order a special one because she was still so tiny. This test was to see if the baby could deal with the ride home in the car seat and to make sure her oxygen saturation didn’t drop and their were no drops or spikes in her heart rate. The baby is required to stay in the car seat for the estimated amount of time that it will take you to get her home from the hospital.