Care for a premature baby

About 10% of newborns are born before the deadline that was determined by doctors. And take care of such babies need a different way than for full-time toddler.

For newborns who were born prematurely, close contact with parents is especially important. The baby needs to touch his mother’s body to his mother and father, to feel their warmth, heartbeat, breathing. This all provides the application of the “kangaroo” method, which is practiced with babies weighing more than 1100 g and from the age of 30 weeks of gestation.

The method involves contacting the bodies of the mother and baby without clothes. The woman undresses to the waist, lies down on the bed and lays the naked baby on her breast, covering herself with a blanket. In this case, the baby feels the maximum comfort and protection, as if he is still in my mother's tummy. In the same way, a child can be laid on papa's chest.

The best food for any baby, even if he was born prematurely, is breast milk. It is ideal for the baby in its composition and provides all the needs of the baby. In particular, in the milk of women who gave birth prematurely, there is more protein, protective factors and oligosaccharides, and the amount of lactose is reduced, since premature babies assimilate it worse.

However, in practice, it is not easy to start feeding prematured crumbs right from the mother's breast, especially if the weight of the infant is too small and the sucking reflex is absent. Baby is given nutrients mainly intravenously, adding a small amount of nutrition through a probe to stimulate the gastrointestinal tract. When the sucking reflex appears and the baby gains weight, they begin to give expressed milk from the bottle, and then gradually transfer to breastfeeding.

How to properly apply to the breast of a premature baby can be viewed in the next video.

Optimum temperature and humidity are extremely important for the care of premature babies. For this reason, immediately after giving birth, the baby is placed in a special incubator, called the incubator. It constantly maintains humidity above 70% and a temperature of 34-36 degrees Celsius. As soon as the baby gains a certain weight, it is transferred to a heated bed.

• The baby is given a morning toilet every day, washing his face and cleaning his nose and ears if necessary.
• After each stool, the baby is rinsed using warm running water.
• The clothes and underwear of the child are washed at high temperature using special powders, and must also be ironed.
• It is necessary to change clothes of the baby very quickly so that the baby does not lose heat.

When bathing premature babies should observe the following conditions:

• Permission for the first bathing must be given by a doctor.
• Water in the first months should be boiled.
• Water temperature should not be below +37.^ºWITH.
• Hot water is poured into the bath, then cold water is added to it until the desired temperature is reached.
• The air in the bathroom before bathing should be heated to +25^ºWITH.
• It is acceptable to use herbal decoctions such as sage, oregano or valerian, which are added to the water.
• The body of the baby is immersed in water so that only the baby’s head remains above the water.
• Washing with soap is recommended not more than one (maximum two) times a week.
• At the end of bathing the baby should be doused with warm water and wrapped in a warm towel.
• Wipe the baby's skin gently and gently, after which all the folds should be treated with vegetable oil.
• Tempering procedures for premature babies are not performed.

About the nuances of childcare, see the following video, presented in two parts.

Regarding the start of walks with a premature baby should consult with a pediatrician. Usually such children are taken out for a walk, starting from the age of 2 weeks, in calm weather at an air temperature not lower than +24^ºWITH. The first time on the street is enough to spend 10-15 minutes. Further, the duration of the walk is increased by adding 10–20 minutes, until a total of 1–2 hours is obtained.

As for guests, due to the weak immune system of premature babies, it is desirable for them to communicate less with other people. For this reason, in the first months after discharge, you should limit your baby’s visits to outsiders and not go to crowded places.

Since premature babies are characterized by muscle weakness, they are recommended massage courses, which are conducted by experts. Nevertheless, parents can master simple techniques on their own and carry out a karapuz massage at home, but the doctor must give permission for such procedures.

Usually, the first massage is carried out by peanuts, who are 1 month old, using the stroking movements. Massage is performed either an hour after feeding, or half an hour before it. From the second month, gymnastic exercises are added to the massage to help the formation of important motor skills. Crumbs are taught to turn on their sides, pick up toys, and later - are encouraged to crawl, stand, sit, and walk.

In the next video you can see how to properly massage a premature baby.

How to choose a cot and how to organize water treatments, see the following video.