Caring for Premature Baby: What Parents Need to know
Premature baby is defined as baby born before 37 weeks of pregnancy is completed. There are subcategories of preterm birth, based on gestational age: extremely preterm (less than 28 weeks), very preterm (28 to 32 weeks), moderate to late preterm (32 to 37 weeks). While the normal baby born in 40 weeks of pregnancy. According to WHO, the rate of premature birth ranges from 5% to 18% of babies born in all over the world. In Pakistan it ranges 14% to 15.8% (ranks top 8 in the world), and in USA, it ranges from 11% to 13% of pregnancies. How a premature baby look (Characteristics of Premature Baby) The weight of baby plays very important role, the normal birth weight is about 7 pounds while a premature baby weighs 2 to 5 pounds only. The premature baby is visibly very small and weak, He/she is about 14 to 18 inches of length, too small to handle and feed. The head of preemie is disproportionately larger than a normal size. They have very fine, soft and feathery hair...