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Babies that are born prematurely face a number of problems,
including low birth weight, respiratory and breathing difficulties,
and underdeveloped organs and organ systems. Some research
also suggests that babies born prematurely are at higher
risk for certain health problems as they get older. To find
ways to minimize the impact of premature birth on the health
of infants, the NICHD supports and conducts observational
and interventional studies on these topics.
Low Birth Weight (LBW) and Very Low Birth Weight
(VLBW)
LBW refers to any baby that weighs less than 2,500 grams
(about 5 pounds, 8 ounces). VLBW describes an infant that
weighs less than 1,500 grams (about 3 pounds, 5 ounces).
LBW and VLBW infants are at higher risk than other infants
for a variety of problems, including cerebral palsy, sepsis
(a type of blood infection), chronic lung disease, and death.
These infants are also at higher risk for hypothermia (high-poh-THERM-ee-uh),
low body temperature, which can be dangerous.
Research is now underway to learn how to increase the level
of nutrition for these infants, to improve their survival
rates, and find out what, if any, long-term effects these
conditions have on overall health.
The NICHD and other Institutes are currently conducting a
number of clinical
trials related to LBW and VLBW
clinical
trials related to LBW and VLBW.
Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)
In RDS, the baby has trouble breathing. RDS can result from
various situations, such as:
- The baby's lungs aren't fully developed. Health
care professionals can give these infants certain types
of steroids, called corticosteroids (CORE-tick-oh-stair-oids),
to help the lungs mature more quickly. These steroids may
also lower the risk of brain injury. Sometimes, giving
the lungs a little extra push in their development can
help the baby breathe easier, which allows the infant to
get stronger. Health care providers may also give corticosteroids
to a woman who is at risk of delivering her baby before
34 weeks of pregnancy, to try to prevent the infant from
developing RDS.
- The lungs are missing an important material.
For the lungs to work properly, their lining has to be
completely covered with a slick, soapy coating called surfactant.
A growing fetus doesn't make enough surfactant to breathe
outside of the womb until a certain point in development.
Babies born prematurely have about 5 percent of the total
surfactant that they need, which puts them at high risk
for RDS. Through research conducted and supported by the
NICHD, premature babies can now receive replacement surfactant
to coat their lungs and allow for easier breathing. In
some cases, getting replacement surfactant can prevent
RDS from occurring at all; in other cases, the replacement
surfactant saves the baby's lungs from long-term damage.
In addition to the treatments for these situations, premature
infants may also benefit from being placed on a respirator,
a machine that helps them breathe by inflating and deflating
their lungs. Oxygen treatments or treatments using nitric
oxide may also improve the breathing.
Through this and other NICHD-supported research into the
problems faced by premature infants, survival rates for premature
infants with RDS are nearly 95 percent. The NICHD and other
Institutes are also conducting clinical
trials related to RDS
clinical
trials related to RDS.
To read the rest of this article on the problems of premature
babies from the NIH National Institute of Child Health and
Development, please click here: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/womenshealth/research/pregbirth/preterm.cfm
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