Features of caring for a premature baby

Pregnancy usually lasts 38-40 weeks. During this time, the baby in the mother's stomach goes through the entire cycle of intrauterine development. But it happens that a child is born before the appointed term. If she was born before 37 weeks, it means that the baby has not yet fully matured and needs additional conditions to grow and develop.

A premature baby differs from a healthy one, born on time, with thinner, dark red skin, its subcutaneous fat tissue is weakly expressed or absent at all. Thin skin is easily injured, so all procedures and manipulations for such a child require special care.

Due to the anatomical and physiological features of premature babies, their care at home is somewhat different from the generally accepted norms. For you – recommendations of pediatrician MM "Dobrobut" Yulia Duzhaya.

Temperature mode

First of all, it is important to create an optimal temperature regime, which provides for an air temperature in the room of 22-250C and a humidity of 40-70%. The room requires ventilation every three hours for 15-20 minutes. Since the child's thermoregulation system is not yet sufficiently formed, it is important to ensure that the body temperature remains within 36.5-37.5°C. Therefore, you should measure the baby's body temperature in the morning and in the evening. It is important to abandon electric heaters and blankets. To warm the baby, rubber warmers wrapped in a diaper or special bags, which should be placed at palm distance from the child, will be optimal. The newborn's face must remain open. By the end of the first month, the child's thermoregulation will be established, and there will be no need for artificial heating.

Feeding

The best nutrition for a premature baby is breast milk. Breastfeeding should be done on demand, but not less than once every 2-2.5 hours during the first month of life. Breast milk contains all the vitamins for the development of a premature baby, but in the autumn-winter period, due to vitamin D deficiency, special attention should be paid to the rational nutrition of the nursing mother. On the 10-14th day of the baby's life, it is recommended to prescribe vitamin D (400 IU/day). If breastfeeding is impossible for some reason, artificial mixtures adapted to the needs of premature babies are used.

Due to the immaturity of the digestive system of premature babies, they often burp. Therefore, it is necessary:

• feed the baby, holding at an angle of 45 degrees;
• hold "column" after feeding for at least 20 minutes;
• put on the tummy between feedings.

Premature babies gain weight differently than full-term babies. Only a pediatrician can assess weight gain, who will take into account the individual characteristics of the baby and draw the correct conclusions.

Bathing

You can start bathing a premature baby in the first days after discharge (you should not bathe the baby in the first day after BCG vaccination). A baby with a lower weight has a greater risk of hypothermia, so the air temperature in the bathing room should be higher than standard (approximately 25-26°C). Only boiled water should be used for bathing, without adding herbs and bath preparations, the temperature is 37°C. It is possible to use baby foams for bathing. Immediately after bathing, the baby should be wiped with a towel and wrapped in a dry diaper or towel. To prevent the baby from hypothermia, all other hygiene procedures (treatment of the umbilical wound, skin and mucous membranes) can be continued for 5-10 minutes.

Walks

If the doctor allows, you can walk with a premature baby only in warm weather, not earlier than he turns two weeks old. A baby born in the summer should be taken out for a walk only when the outside temperature is not lower than 24°C and in windless weather. If the child was born in autumn or spring, walks are allowed only 1.5 months after birth, if the body weight is 2.5 kg or more. At the same time, the air temperature should not be lower than 10°C. In winter, you should not go outside with your child, as it will be difficult for him to tolerate such a sharp temperature drop.

Massage

Premature babies have a weak muscular system, so they are shown a course of massage. Massage techniques are quite simple for parents, but first you need to consult a doctor.

Vaccination

Premature babies are vaccinated according to the vaccination schedule by chronological age, like all other full-term babies. If the birth weight is more than 2000 g and the baby is clinically stable, vaccination, including BCG, can be carried out in the maternity hospital.
If the weight is less than 2000 g, BCG is postponed until reaching 2500 g. Inactivated vaccines (hepatitis B, DTP, IPV, Hib, pneumococcus) are administered from 2 months of age, even if the baby weighs less than 2000 g, if there are no contraindications. Rotavirus vaccine is recommended for premature babies by chronological age, provided that they are clinically stable. In children with a body weight <1500 g or born significantly prematurely, vaccination against rotavirus is carried out individually, only after assessment of the condition by a pediatrician/neonatologist.

As a rule, with all the necessary care rules and due attention from parents and doctors, premature babies develop well and after the first year of life catch up with their peers. Among the prominent people who were born prematurely are Charles Darwin, Napoleon I Bonaparte, Alexander Suvorov, Isaac Newton, Wilhelm Schiller, Voltaire, Johann Goethe, Winston Churchill.

Related services:
Breastfeeding, its role in a child's life
Pediatrician appointment