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Prematurity

Your baby is considered premature when they are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, also referred to preterm or preemie babies. There are different degrees of prematurity.

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  • Extremely preterm: Born at or before 25 weeks of pregnancy

  • Very preterm: Born at or before 26-31 weeks of pregnancy

  • Moderately preterm: Born between 32-34 weeks of pregnancy

  • Late preterm: 34-36 weeks of pregnancy completed

 

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How does prematurity effect your baby? 

Prematurity impacts every baby differently. Some babies will experience few or no developmental delays. Prematurity typically impacts baby’s size when they are born; they can  be undersized in both weight and height when born, but they will grow as they get older. Sometimes they have have a head that is larger than expected in ratio to their body side- but that will adjust with age. 

 

Prematurity can impact the development of brain, lungs, heart, eyes and organs. This is why baby may spend time in the NICU if they are born premature, so healthcare providers can provide the best care. 

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Sometimes parents will feel guilty if baby is born premature. Moms and dads may feel like they did something wrong, or that they have not protected their baby. This is a natural feeling, some of our team members have experiences this!  It is important to remember that there are so many reasons why baby may be born early, and it is no one’s fault if they are premature. There is so much that can be done to support baby’s health and development once they are born!

What can you do? 

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Until baby is 2 years old, their milestones will need to be adjusted to make sure they stay on track.

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So, what does it mean to “adjust for prematurity”?

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This is also known as corrected age, and it means you are tracking your child’s milestones not by their actual age, but by the age that they would be if they had been born on their due date

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How do you adjust for prematurity?

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The adjustment is made by considering two important dates: baby’s due date, and the date baby was actually born.

 

1. Babies due date

2. when your baby was born

3. simply take the actual age and subtract the weeks preterm

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For example, If your baby is actually 13 weeks old, but was born 9 weeks early, their corrected age is 4 weeks or about 1 month.

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