Each girl sooner or later dreams of experiencing a wonderful sense of motherhood. During pregnancy, the expectant mother tries to take care of herself more, namely, she carefully monitors her health and adheres to a healthy lifestyle. But despite this, there are such cases that the long-awaited baby for one reason or another is born out of time. Why it happens?
The crumbs who saw the world a few weeks earlier grow a little different than the babies who were in the womb before the due date. These babies go through the stages of maturation at a more intense pace. By the age of twelve months, premature babies are almost impossible to distinguish from those who were born on time. During the first sixty days, babies who were born a few weeks earlier require special conditions of detention. Immediately after birth, they are very different from healthy babies both in appearance and in the rate of increase in body weight, and in the acquisition of various skills. Consider the development of a premature baby by month.
The kid who saw the world out of time: features of development
Children who see the world between 21st and 37th weeks are called premature babies.
During the development period of such babies, there are a number of significant features:
- They are able to learn new skills about 40-60 days later than ordinary children. For babies born before the 32nd week, the delay will be significant - 3-4 months. Children born after this period will lag behind in development by only a couple of months.
- If the baby's body weight is less than 1.5 kg, then he needs special conditions. Such children are placed in couves. These are special capsules, the conditions in which are as close as possible to the womb. Upon reaching a weight of 1.7 kg, the child is moved to a special heated bed. After the baby's weight reaches 2 kg, he will no longer need special thermal support.
- The nervous system of a premature baby functions in a special way. That is why the child needs increased attention. He should be surrounded by care and affection.
In the process of thermoregulation of a premature baby, there are subtleties. The optimum temperature in the room in which the child is located is from 20 to 22 degrees. Humidity should be from 50 to 70%.
Differences in appearance
Babies who were born ahead of schedule are very different from full-term babies. The weight of such babies can be very small, and their growth is simply tiny. In addition, premature babies have delicate wrinkled skin. In the first days after birth, it may differ in pronounced redness. The baby's ears are very thin and can even stick together a little. A barely noticeable hair fluff is visible on the arms and legs. It is called lanugo. The baby’s head is disproportionately large and occupies about a third of the entire body length. The baby’s belly also looks quite large. The navel is lower than usual. The arms and legs look too short. Nail plates are almost transparent and very thin. External genitalia are not fully formed. Due to an underdeveloped skull, a displacement of the large fontanel is observed, and fragments not covered by the skin may remain on the small fontanel.
Graduation
There are four degrees of prematurity. They are associated with height and weight indicators.
Let's consider them in more detail:
- Premature first degree include children born to a term from 36 to 37 weeks. The weight of such babies is from 2 to 2.5 kg. The body weight of a child can grow 4-5 times over a year.
- Premature second degree include children born in the period from the 32nd to the 35th week of pregnancy. Their weight can be from 1.5 to 2 kg. The mass increases over the year 5-7 times.
- The third degree of prematurity is children born between the 28th and 31st weeks of pregnancy. The weight of babies can be from 1 to 1.5 kg. These are deeply premature babies. Monthly development of such a baby is at an unusually fast pace. Over the year, body weight increases 6-7 times.
- A fourth degree of prematurity is already considered extreme. The body weight of the child is up to 1 kg. Such babies are born at a period of 28 weeks. Over the year, the baby's body weight can increase 10 times.
Each month of the first year of life of a premature baby has its own characteristics. To understand how to properly care for such children, you need to understand all the subtleties.
First month of life
How will the development of a premature baby occur in months to a year? The first 30 days, babies are usually not too active. Often they are inactive. The crumbs gain mass extremely slowly. They feed the baby with a probe, since he does not have a sucking reflex. If the child is not able to breathe, he undergoes mechanical ventilation. Next to him in the first month of life must be a mother.
Second month of life
How will a premature baby live? At 2 months, development becomes more active. The little pean begins to gain weight and gain in length. Moreover, his growth is much greater than that of peers born on time. But premature babies quickly lose strength and remain weak. Therefore, it is important to give them enhanced nutrition. If the baby refuses to breast, milk must be expressed and given the right number of times. A premature baby in two months develops much more actively, although it is still weakened.
Third month of life
The development of a premature baby at 3 months is characterized by an active increase in weight. Many babies by this age already weigh twice as much as at birth. The baby responds well to light and sounds, but spends most of his time in a dream.
Fourth month of life
Many parents today are interested in how quickly premature babies return to normal. Monthly development, weight, baby height - these are the main issues. A four-month-old premature baby can independently raise and hold its head. Also, the baby at this time learns to fix his gaze, begins to make sounds resembling a buzz. The regimen of the child’s day must include gymnastics, walking, swimming and massage. It is especially important during this period not to stop breastfeeding. After all, he needs contact with his mother and healthy nutrients. At this age, muscle tone can also increase. As a result of this, the child will have difficulty packing and waking up.
Fifth month of life
How does the development of a premature baby occur in months to a year? At five months, the baby is able to give her mother the first conscious smile. Muscle tone is slightly increased, so movements can be a little jerky. At the same time, the crumb is still able to hold a small rattle in his hand. Mental development is proceeding very rapidly. The kid begins to slowly navigate in space and perceive sounds.
Sixth month of life
Six months after birth, the baby slowly begins to catch up with the development of its full-term peers. The baby’s mass is tripled compared to how he was born. He slowly begins to recognize loved ones and babble. Also at this time, the baby can already deal with toys on its own. The development of a premature baby at 6 months old is practically no different from healthy babies. If it is supported under the armpits, it can even spring with legs.
Seventh month
How will a premature baby grow further? At 7 months, development is particularly active. Gradually, the children begin to roll over on their stomachs, pick up toys and crawl. Also at this time, you can begin to feed the baby with a spoon. The babbling of babies is becoming more diverse. In children who were born at the 35-37th week, the first teeth may begin to appear.
Eighth month
How does a premature baby develop further? At 8 months, development progresses. At this time, the baby begins to control his body and may even consciously roll over. Some children at this age try to crawl and sit. Progress is observed in the psychological development of the development of the baby. The child gradually begins to listen to the speech addressed to him, can find one or another subject, becomes interested in poetry and songs, absorbs all the information received from the outside world.
Ninth month
If we consider the development of a premature baby by months, this one is characterized by the ability to sit and get up without help. In children born at 32-34 weeks, teeth begin to erupt. Gradually, the child begins to spend more time on games. He is able to fulfill simple requests. The first words and syllables appear in speech. The child begins to perceive the intonation of the speaker. By 9 months the baby is already well developed and can independently sit and get up.
Tenth month
By this age, most of the premature babies can already stand on their own, as well as move along the fence. In babies born before the 31st week, teeth begin to appear. Also during this period, the little one begins to hold his gaze on a moving subject. Of particular interest in a child are balls. As for psychological development, during this period the baby is already able to find out his name, carefully listens to the speech of other people and remembers new words.
Eleventh month of life
The development of a premature baby months to a year provides for gradual attempts to walk. At this period, most children begin to take their first steps. Also at this age they can easily get up and sit down. At 11 months, babies begin to attract toys like pyramids and cubes, as well as various wheelchairs. The child already knows some of the simplest actions. The speech already contains short words that denote various objects.
Twelfth month
Upon reaching the age of one year, premature babies cease to be different from the little ones that were born on time. In terms of basic health indicators, such children are in no way behind. Some say that you can recognize a premature baby by his movements: they are uncoordinated and sharp. But in general, children of this age are very active.
How is prematurity determined?
A newborn can be born prematurely as a result of various diseases or poor health of the mother, as well as an overly active lifestyle. An important factor is also the social status of the family, morale, quality of nutrition. What is the difference between premature babies? Monthly development, weight and height of such babies will be slightly behind the norm. In medicine, there are a number of rules by which a child is classified as premature. As a rule, this applies to children who were born in the period from the 22nd to the 37th week.
It is conditionally possible to divide all premature babies into several categories: birth weight is from 0.5 to 1 kg, from 1 to 1.5 kg, from 1.5 to 2.5 kg. Another indicator may be a lag in the development of some organs. For example, the baby may have too thin skin, or the auricles may not be fully formed. In addition, in premature umbilical fossa is lower. Up to a year, all these external deviations will disappear. In order for the baby to develop correctly, one should carefully monitor the functioning of all organs and systems.
Differences
Despite the fact that there are no special differences, a baby born on time is easy to distinguish from a premature baby. A child born ahead of time has certain features in the structure of the body. His skin is very thin and wrinkled, his body is covered with fluff, his head and limbs are disproportionate in size, and his nail plates are too thin.
What is the difference between a premature baby? At 1 month, development may be somewhat delayed. However, by this time the child will have gained a little weight, and the physique will not be so obvious. Up to a year, the condition of the baby, as a rule, is included in the norm, so it is no longer possible to distinguish it from a baby born on time.
Development features
The main difference is the delay in the development of skills. The development of a premature baby by months may lag. For example, usually the child independently holds his head in 1.5-2 months. Babies born prematurely develop this skill by only three. The lag in this case depends on the degree of prematurity and the health of the baby. If the baby was born after the 32nd week, then the delay in development will be no more than 2 months. In addition, early children differ in certain features of the functioning of the nervous system. Such a child needs more attention.
Premature babies often have problems with adaptation. To help the baby get comfortable, it is necessary to create a comfortable atmosphere at home. Try to spend as much time as possible with the child, try not to restrict communication with other children. Indeed, in the team, he will be able to master all the necessary skills much faster.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, kids today are often born much earlier than planned. In fact, there is nothing to worry about if the child is able to continue to live and enjoy everything that happens. In order to identify and recognize the problem in time, you need to know how the development of a premature baby by months occurs.