Premature Birth of the baby is when the baby's birth takes place more than three weeks before the baby's estimated due date i.e. the baby born before 37 weeks of pregnancy is considered premature or born too early. Also known as Preterm or Preemie Baby. Premature babies are often born with moderate to complicated medical problems. So the earlier the baby is born, the higher the risk of complications.
According to WHO, every year 15 million babies are born as a premature baby i.e. more than 1 in 10 babies. Approximately 1 million children die each year due to complications of preterm birth. Many survivors face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual and hearing problems.
A. Kangaroo mother care is a method for care of preterm infants. Snuggling a baby skin-to-skin is a marsupial-inspired parenting practice that comes with many substantial benefits right from the start and continuing throughout the NICU stay and beyond.
A. Some of the ways to bond with preemie in the NICU are Kangaroo Care , talk to them , see eye-to-eye, touch and feel them , sing to them and photograph them.
A. The time that babies stay in NICU depends on how early they were born and how sick they have been. Some babies need less than a week in intensive care, but some may need up to 10 weeks and sometimes even more.
A. A feeding tube is used for babies who are very young and have developed the reflex to tolerate milk feeding but does not have the strength to breastfeed or drink from bottle. These babies are fed by gavage.