Preemie Development

From LoveToKnow Baby

Your preemie's development is constantly on your mind. Because preemies are obviously behind their full-term counterparts in growth and development, there is a reason for concern. Premature babies, however, typically catch up very quickly.

Developmental Areas

Your pediatrician will constantly monitor your baby's weight gain and developmental behavior. Generally, there are five areas of development that concern doctors:

States of consciousness. Although your preemie will sleep a large amount of time, there will also be times when he is awake or semi-awake. These different stages are referred to as states of consciousness.
Physiological. The body does many things automatically, including breathing, heart beats, bowel functions, and digestion. These are considered physiological in nature.
Attention. Your doctor will be interested in your preemie's responses to outside stimuli, such as noises or voices and how he handles that stimuli as well.
Motor skills. Motor development involves the body's movement capabilities, as well as muscle tone and posture.
Self regulation. Your preemie's doctor will judge how well your baby is able to handle other areas. The doctor will want to know the baby responds to stressful situations such as hunger or over stimulation.

Preemie Capabilities

Many parents worry about their preemie's development. It's important to remember, though, that a baby that was born two months early will not develop on the same schedule as a full-term baby.

A four month old preemie that was born two months early will actually be judged developmentally as a two month old. In other words, his age is counted by his due date instead of by when he was actually born.

By three years of age, most preemies will have caught up with other full-term babies, and there will often be no lasting affects of the premature birth. Until your preemie has caught up with her development, however, what can you expect?

Sight. Your preemie's eyesight will be somewhat immature depending upon her gestational age. A baby whose gestational age is around 30 weeks will still be sleeping a significant amount of time, but she will also begin trying to focus on objects eight to 10 inches from her face. Her nearsightedness will begin to disappear as she matures.
Hearing. Since hearing begins to develop inside the womb, you may not notice a significant difference in your preemie's hearing. She may show signs of voice recognition, particularly yours.
Sleeping. It's no big surprise that all newborns sleep a lot. Sometimes parents are still overcome with fatigue, however, simply because those sleep times are continuously interrupted by hunger, dirty diapers, and other causes. Preemies tend to spend quite a bit of their days and nights in a stage of light sleep. They become wakeful for a few seconds, and then they drift back off to sleep. Preemies spend more time in light sleep stages than deep sleep stages, but these patterns will change as they grow.
Communicating. As a parent, you will begin to recognize the sounds your preemie makes and learn what responses will satisfy her. Your doctor may instruct you to monitor her color, which is an indication of respiration and circulation, as well as her motor skills and cries.

Pediatrician Visits

Your pediatrician will want to keep a close watch on your preemie's development after she has been released from the hospital. It is natural for your preemie's weight gain to start off rather slowly, but eventually she should begin to catch up.

Breastfeeding mothers may have to feed their preemies every hour or so for the first few days or even weeks. Those who feed their babies formula may be given a specially enriched formula to ensure that baby receives additional nutrients.

Preemie Development Websites

It's natural to have questions regarding your preemie's development. The following Websites offer more information on preemie development and premature baby support groups:

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If you are the parent of a preemie, please consider sharing some of your parenting stories with our readers. We want to hear from you!

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Comments

Thanks so much for sharing your story! We're so glad that your little guy is doing so well!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

As the proud mom of a 32 month old who was born a premmie it gives me great joy as i reflect to state that he is now perfect and healthy, it's so hard to recogn ize now that he was a 3lb premmie who was born at 34 weeks..Our 6 week struggle in the hospital made me the strong and determined woman that I am now..I owe so much to this "Little Miracle" who has taught me so much and I encourage other moms to pray and have faith and to draw strength from these miracles..

-- Contributed by: Enter your name here

MzLadyJ, We're so glad that your little girls is doing well. Best of luck in the future to your family!-Susie

-- Contributed by: Susie1506

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