17 November is World Prematurity Day. The day was declared a day of importance in 2008 to celebrate our tiniest heroes globally.
At Melomed Richards Bay, three little VIP guests were invited to spend the morning at the hospital and celebrate their success stories, along with their parents. These babies all spent their first few weeks of life in Melomed’s neonatal ICU, where they were lovingly cared for and nursed to good health. They are now happy and healthy little babies, ready to face the world.
Resident Neonatologist Dr Karaba Seake explains that a premature baby is a baby born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy have been completed. A normal term pregnancy is 40 completed weeks. Globally, there are 15 million premature babies born every year and this number is rising. That accounts for one in 10 babies.
About one million babies die because of complications of prematurity. In 2015, preterm birth complications were found to be the leading cause of death among children under five years of age.
Prematurity is categorised into the following:
- An extreme preterm baby born before 28 weeks of pregnancy
- Moderate preterm baby born between 28 and 32 weeks
- Late preterm baby born between 32 and 37 weeks of pregnancy
There are many causes of preterm birth, which include having previously had a premature baby, maternal bleeding, multiple babies (eg. twins), infection, chronic maternal conditions like hypertension and diabetes, but some causes remain unknown. Therefore, the management of these babies is critical and the majority will need specialised care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Dr Karabo Seake, Neonatologist at Melomed Private Hospital
While admitted they need to be kept in a quiet and warm environment. Feeding them is a priority, though the majority may not be able to suck. Thus they are fed through a tube that is passed down the mouth or nose into the stomach. Treating these babies for any infections and making sure they don’t contract infection in the first place, is also one of the major concerns. As part of their treatment, they will need long-term follow-ups to monitor their growth and development. Dr Karabo Seake, Neonatologist at Melomed Private Hospital
- Babies born preterm have much higher rates of low birth weight.
- Low birth weight refers to babies born weighing less than 2.5kg, and very low birth weight refers to babies with a birth weight of less than 1.5kg.
- The concept of ‘small for gestational age’ describes babies who are smaller than the average for the number of weeks of pregnancy
