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• Treatments and Therapies

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• Patient Handouts

Summary

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:

• Breathing problems
• Feeding difficulties
• Cerebral palsy
• Developmental delay
• Vision problems
• Hearing problems

Preemies need special medical care in a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU. They stay there until their organ systems can work on their own.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• Health Issues of Premature Babies (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Preterm Babies (March of Dimes Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Preterm Labor and Birth (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
• When Your Baby's Born Premature (Nemours Foundation)

Treatments and Therapies

• What Are the Common Treatments for Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC)? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Caring for Your Premature Baby (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Caring for Your Premature Baby at Home (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Common Parent Reactions to the NICU (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Family's Role in the NICU (March of Dimes Foundation)
• Feeding Your Baby in the NICU (March of Dimes Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Immunizations for Preterm Babies (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) (March of Dimes Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Transitioning Newborns from NICU to Home (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
• Watching for Complications (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Corrected Age for Preemies (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Cranial Ultrasound (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Overview of Early Intervention (Center for Parent Information and Resources)
• Skin-to-Skin Contact: How Kangaroo Care Benefits Your Baby (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• When Your Baby's in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Your Preemie's Growth and Developmental Milestones (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Apnea of Prematurity (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• Necrotizing Enterocolitis (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Periventricular Leukomalacia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Retinopathy of Prematurity (National Eye Institute)
• Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• FastStats: Birthweight and Gestation (National Center for Health Statistics)
• PeriStats (Perinatal Statistics) (March of Dimes Foundation)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Infant, Premature (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Infant, Premature, Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: The Effect of Suckling and Swallowing Exercises During the Transition to...
• Article: Improving Vitamin D Status in Preterm Newborns: A Randomized Trial of...
• Article: Individualized Target Fortification of Breast Milk with Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat...
• Premature Babies -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• KidsHealth (Nemours Foundation)
• March of Dimes Foundation Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Apnea of prematurity (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Intraventricular hemorrhage of the newborn (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Necrotizing enterocolitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Neonatal weight gain and nutrition (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Osteopenia - premature infants (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Premature infant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Preterm labor (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish