Almost 1 of every 10 infants born in the United States are premature, or preemies. A premature birth is when a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks.
Important growth and development happen throughout pregnancy - especially in the final months and weeks. Because they are born too early, preemies weigh much less than full-term babies. They may have health problems because their organs did not have enough time to develop. Problems that a baby born too early may have include:
- Premature Babies (National Library of Medicine)Almost 1 of every 10 infants born in the United States are premature, or preemies. A premature birth is when a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. ...
- ... the baby. This helps the baby grow. A premature infant may not receive the proper amount of calcium ... to be important for bone development. Most very premature infants have limited physical activity. This may also contribute ...
- A premature infant is a baby born before 37 full weeks of gestation (more than 3 weeks before the due ... A premature infant may have signs of the following problems: Not enough red blood cells ( anemia ) Bleeding into the brain ...
- Premature babies need to receive good nutrition so they grow at a rate close to that of babies ... at full term (at 39 weeks or later). Premature babies will often stay in the neonatal intensive care ...
- Health Issues of Premature Babies (American Academy of Pediatrics)preemie; premature baby; preterm birth; neonatal; neonatologist; NICU; jaundice: ROP; NEC; disabilities; respiratory distress syndrome; surfactant; immature lungs; Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; ...
- Caring for Your Premature Baby (American Academy of Family Physicians)Premature Babies/Living With ... Premature Babies ... American Academy of Family Physicians
- Premature Babies (March of Dimes Foundation)Premature Babies/Start Here ... Premature Babies
- Caring for Your Premature Baby at Home (Nemours Foundation)Premature Babies/Living With ... Premature Babies
- ... and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish Premature Babies Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute ...
- ... prematurity (ROP; an eye disease that occurs in premature infants that can lead to vision loss and blindness). ...