The Danger: Low-birth-weight infants are notoriously vulnerable to their environment and survive roughly in direct proportion to their maturity. Thus 50 to 75 percent of all infants weighing less than 3 pounds 5 ounces at birth have major defects of vision, hearing, or intellectual capacity; less than half of these extremely low-weight newborns survive. Premature babies have a higher likelihood of neurological problems, learning disabilities, and defects of every kind; taken as a group, their IQ is lower than the average IQ of normal-birth-weight children. Other complications of immaturity include respiratory difficulties, a decreased ability to combat infections, a tendency toward rickets, anemia, nutritional disturbances, poor appetite, and hemorrhagic diathesis ( an excessive response to trivial injury).
Symptoms: Inactivity, weakness, feeble crying, irregular breathing, a large head with prominent eyes, a protruding abdomen, a lack of subcutaneous fat are all com¬mon concomitants of low birth weight and/or early delivery.
Treatment: In order to ease the transition from the uterus to the harsh external environment, treatment for low-birth-weight infants attempts to provide aspects of the uterine environment and only “wean” the infant from them as he is ready. Thus warmth. (an incubator temperature of 88 to 90 degrees), humidity (55 to 65 percent or higher), easily digested food (sometimes fed directly to the stomach by means of catheter), adequate oxygen (airways kept clear, oxygen artificially administered only if necessary), and prevention of infection (the protected environment of an incubator) are the major aspects of treatment. Minimal handling and exposure, expert nursing care, and a vitamin-supplemented special diet are also required. The first twenty-four hours of life are the most critical, and the second twenty-four hours are next in importance.
Prevention: Excellent prenatal care, including the good health and nutrition of the mother, favorable living conditions during pregnancy, and no smoking or drugs constitute the major preventative measures.
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