Issues with a Premature Delivery
Unfortunately, premature delivery can cause certain health issues for the baby. Some of those issues are short-term and relatively minor while others can be potentially more serious and longer lasting. In some of the most severe cases, preterm babies go on to live their entire lives suffering from health conditions related to early birth.
More about Premature Delivery
A premature delivery is clinically defined as one that occurs at any point prior to the 37th week of pregnancy. Children born between weeks 37 and 39 are still technically early, but they are not considered premature due to the fact that due dates are based on estimates rather than hard and fast facts.
Babies born between the 25th and 37th weeks have the greatest chances of survival among preterm children. Many of them grow up to lead a fairly normal life with health issues that are very manageable through medication and certain kinds of therapies.
Health Issues Related to Premature Delivery
Unfortunately, premature delivery can lead to a number of different short- and long-term health problems. For example, premature children are at greater risk of developing breathing problems as a result of having underdeveloped lungs at birth. Respiratory distress syndrome is but one example.
Premature delivery can cause a number of different heart conditions, damage to the eyes, problems with the intestinal tract, and more. Children can even have problems feeding if born too early.
The reality is that premature delivery is never an ideal situation. There are far too many things that can go wrong when pregnancy does not go full term. It goes without saying that the more premature a birth is, the greater the risk of complications.
The good news is that medical science has made tremendous strides in treating premature babies. The survival rate for children born after week 25 is now 80%, which is astounding compared to what we were looking at just a few decades ago. In the meantime, the medical community continues to learn more about premature delivery and the issues it causes. The more they learn, the more able they will be to develop new treatments.
