Premature babies, an example of strength –

  • With only 37 weeks of gestation and even before 28, these children arrive in the world who, from the day of their birth, are an example of strength and perseverance.

These little ones who become warriors from their mother’s womb, who come to life before 37 weeks of gestation, some even before 28, and from their first contact with the outside world teach us how to make our way in this world that in its early days it looks somewhat hostile.

The first lesson is learned by the mommies, who measure their strength and their faith, when they must accept the idea of ​​not having a full-term pregnancy that goes at the normal rate. Likewise, families who expect to have the baby at home and instead, face a separation because in most cases they must stay in the intensive care unit.

According to Dr. Maria Camila Reyes, Pediatric Neonatologist at the Grupo Quironsalud Clinic, “There are multiple problems with premature birth for the mother and the baby. If it occurs before week 28, babies are at very high risk; Among the most common diseases are suction disorders, hypoglycemia, they have a greater risk of infections and cerebral hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus, there are conditions typical of premature babies and the more premature they are, the greater the risk they will have of presenting them”.

And it is that this struggle to live defies all forecasts, 30 years ago the life of a baby that was born with only 25 weeks of gestation was not considered viable. Today, thanks to advances in Neonatology, the chances of survival have been changing “Currently the texts speak of viability from week 24, others from week 23, but it must be taken into account that the more premature be these babies, greater risk of mortality and morbidity (surviving with a series of conditions that can reduce the quality of life). A premature baby will not always go to an incubator (as in some cases of late premature babies -week 34 and 36.6), this depends on the conditions of birth, time and weight, otherwise it occurs with those babies born below week 34 or with a weight of less than 2000 grams, that they will have to spend a few days in the incubator, however, determining how many days they will be hospitalized is impossible for us as pediatricians or neonatologists and as I always tell parents, every newborn It’s a different world, each child has their rhythm” adds Dr. Reyes.

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Regarding the factors that can predispose to premature birth and the probabilities of delaying it, the Neonatologist affirms that interventions are sought from primary prevention through good prenatal control, since some of them can be modified, such as maternal infections, malnutrition or maternal obesity. She also adds that one of the greatest predictors is having had a premature child, stressing once again the importance of good follow-up in prenatal care.

The development of the life of the premature depends on the existing comorbidities, there may be complications in the medium or long term such as neurodevelopmental delay, feeding and growth difficulties, but fortunately with the advent of all the advances in neonatology and perinatology , the results of newborns, even the smallest, in a large percentage are presented without serious sequelae in the long term.

Adds Dr. Maria Camila Reyes “At the Grupo Quirónsalud Clinic, we have a neonatal intensive care unit that has all the technology, but above all an expert human team that makes all this knowledge and knowledge available to these premature infants and their families. It is a work that we do with a lot of love, premature babies are within all of medicine the group of patients who, despite being so small and fragile, give us lessons in strength every day”.