Premature infant

Injury	Diseases	Nutrition	Poison
Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

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Prematurity can have long-term effects. Many premature infants have medical, developmental, or behavioral problems that continue into childhood or are permanent. The more premature an infant and the smaller the birth weight, the greater the risk of complications. However, it is impossible to predict a baby's long-term outcome based on gestational age or birth weight.

Complications

Possible complications that may occur while in the hospital include:

Anemia
Bleeding into the brain (intraventricular hemorrhage of the newborn) or damage to the brain's white matter (periventricular leukomalacia)
Infection or neonatal sepsis
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, extra air in the tissue of the lungs (pulmonary interstitial emphysema), bleeding in the lungs (pulmonary hemorrhage)
Newborn jaundice
Patent ducturs arteriosus
Severe intestinal inflammation (necrotizing enterocolitis)

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Possible long-time complications include:

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)
Delayed growth and development
Mental or physical disability or delay
Retinopathy of prematurity, vision loss, or blindness

Calling your health care provider

Call your health care provider if you are pregnant and believe you are going into labor prematurely.

If you are pregnant and not receiving prenatal care, call your health care provider or your state's department of health. Most state health departments have programs that provide prenatal care to mothers, whether or not they have insurance or are able to pay.

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Review Date: 01/08/2010
Reviewed By: Kimberly G. Lee, MD, MSC, IBCLC, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Review Provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).