What are the problems associated with premature babies?
The common problems associated with premature babies are: • Respiratory distress syndrome. Premature babies have difficulty in gas exchange as a result of protein and fluid collection within the small air sacs and the collapse of the sacs themselves. • Difficulty in feeding because of weakness. • Greater likelihood of contracting jaundice and increased vulnerability to its effects. • More susceptible to infection. • Congenital defects, including those that affect the heart. • Danger of bleeding in the brain leading to the development of hydrocephalus (dilatation of the fluid-filled cavities or ventricles in the brain). These babies are so fragile that doctors must tread gingerly when it comes to taking care of them. Sometimes the solution can lead to a further problem. There have been cases of a baby’s lung been blown out or scarred as a result of over-inflation of the lung by a respirator. Oxygen therapy has been known to cause blindness or impaired vision in these premature babies. T
