A pre term baby, owing to less body fat may appear tiny and fragile compared to a full term baby. The sooner the baby is delivered the lesser is the body weight of the baby. Besides low body weight, preterm babies have thin skin and often their ribs may be easily visible under the skin.

1. Premature babies facts – An Overview
• A pre term baby, owing to less body fat may appear tiny and fragile
compared to a full term baby. The sooner the baby is delivered the
lesser is the body weight of the baby.
• Besides low body weight, preterm babies have thin skin and often
their ribs may be easily visible under the skin. Irrespective of their
natural skin color preterm babies facts look red and have wrinkled
skin. ,

2. • In case of preterm baby born before the 26th week of gestation, their
eyelids will remain sealed until the 26th week.
• Preterm babies born before the 24th week usually don’t have hair on
the head as they lack the lanugo. Lanugo is the layer that shields the
body from the 24th gestation week onwards.
• The lungs and the genitals of the premature baby may appear to be
too tiny on account of incomplete development.
• The movement of a preterm baby may be severely restricted as the
body lacks the much needed body fat and muscle. The hands and legs
of these babies may remain in almost the same outstretched position
in the absence of muscle tone.
• The cries of preterm babies may be too feeble.
• Due to poor muscle tone the preterm baby may be so tiny and fragile
that even natural sucking of the breast milk may be too difficult. This
makes it necessary to fed the baby small amounts of breast milk
through tubes inserted in the mouth.

3. • The composition of breast milk of mothers who have preterm delivery is
different from the milk of full term delivery. Preterm breast milk
supposingly is richer in protein content and is essential for the
development of the brain. Moreover, pre term breast milk puts lesser
stress on the organs of the baby making it easier to digest the milk.
• The above explained nutritional advantage makes it necessary to feed the
pre term baby with breast milk. If breast feeding directly is not possible
small amounts of the mother’s milk is fed through tubes in the nose and
mouth.

4. • Research shows that playing Mozart’s music to premature babies is highly
beneficial as it not only soothes the baby but also helps to slow down the
metabolism rate. With less energy expended, the saved calories help the
preterm baby to put on weight and gain strength.
• Another effective therapy for premature babies is the kangaroo care. It
refers to the skin to skin contact of the mother and the preterm baby just
like how a kangaroo carries its baby. The kangaroo care helps to regulate
the heart rate, body temperature and the breathing of the preterm baby.
To conclude, with today’s advancement in neonatology, a preterm baby
does not necessarily mean a lifetime of ailments. Surely they need extra
care in the early years but soon they will grow up to be healthy like full
term babies.