If prematurity is defined as a birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy, preterm small pieces do not experience the same difficulties all depending on when they pointed their noses. Extreme prematurity, very preterm and moderate preterm birth ... Learn to distinguish between very different events that are brought to life these babies born too soon.
Prematurity: who is involved, when?
We say that a baby is premature, when it comes 37 weeks after the first day of last period of the mother. If the body of the premature baby is indeed formed, its organs, they have not had time to mature enough. Thus, whatever the stage of prematurity of the child, his body still immature at birth meet difficulties to function properly. However, the tests that will lead them to overcome his home in ICU or neonatology will be very different he was born at 26 weeks rather than 30 weeks. Indeed, in prematurity there are three degrees which correspond to the arrival to the world of small infants:
1. extreme prematurity for a baby born before 28 weeks of pregnancy
Babies born in cases of extreme prematurity have serious problems, particularly in terms of their immune system and the high risk of contracting infections, but also of potential sequelae of brain, intracerebral hemorrhage, digestive problems immature and especially a respiratory ill-equipped to ensure gas exchange.
2. extreme prematurity for babies born between 28 and 31 weeks of pregnancy
Born at this stage, the baby may suffer several diseases such as respiratory failure, hypoglycemia, or an immature digestive requiring intravenous nutrition and a diet very gradually. On the other hand, there may be secondary infections associated with catheters and an environmental and neurological accidents causing bleeding into the cerebral ventricles (rarer since the prior administration of cortisone derivatives) and especially destructive lesions of the brain's white matter, the leading cause of cerebral palsy.
3. moderate prematurity for babies born beyond 32 weeks of pregnancy
The main problems in premature babies average are: hypothermia (need to put in an incubator), an imperfect sucking and swallowing, a vulnerability to infections, the risk of apnea for the youngest of them and an increased risk of brain damage when the newborn has jaundice (jaundice) important.
Although these premature babies are all fundamentally different and can not be said with certainty how their future skills may be affected by the prematurity, date of birth determines the potential impact on their future health.
If medicine and research on prematurity have certainly changed in recent years, the figures of the time indicate that a third of former preterm infants (born between 28 and 31 weeks of pregnancy) was still supported medically to age of 5. Physiotherapist, psychologists, psychiatrists, psychometricians are many specialists who followed at the time these children in need. Regarding the pups born between 24 and 28 weeks, 42% of them were medically assisted to 5 years against 16% for term infants.
Globally, the study found that almost 40% of former preterm presented motor impairments, or cognitive disabilities. The researchers also suggest that more children were born prematurely, ie before 28 weeks, the greater the risk of impairment are high even if they are not damaged if the child is monitored by professionals.
They have developmental disabilities, harder to spot, concerning the movement and coordination, attention, visuospatial organization; disorders language may also appear. All can result in a delay of learning, learning difficulties, psychological disturbances and relational. In the eye can also be observed a squint, or a visual field loss. With regard to hearing ability, hearing loss can occur.
The intellectual deficit is observed only in major damage. All depends on the extent of cavitary lesions and their location in the brain. It is necessary to detect these complications From the first 3 months (specialized consultations with pediatricians, neurologists, ophthalmologists, ENT ... etc ...). Some complications are fortunately only temporary.
If the results of this study show the difficulties encountered there overall a decade these children at different stages of prematurity, a second study Epipage two will soon be available from January.