Preterm Infant Development

When you have a preterm infant, which is any baby who is born before 37 weeks of gestation, you need to understand the specific challenges that you will face as a parent. In general, preterm infants develop slower that babies who are full-term, which can cause you frustration. As your child ages and develops, however, she can catch up with her full-term counterparts.

Feeding and Eating

• One of the first things you'll notice about your preterm baby is his ability to eat. Early preterm babies are often born without the instinctive reflex to suck, meaning he'll have to be fed by feeding tube until the reflex begins. Typically, 36 weeks of gestation is when a baby gets his sucking reflex. Mother should offer the breast before each tube feeding to familiarize her preterm baby with sucking while eating. Eating will be closely monitored by the NICU staff until it is mastered.

Breathing

• Many preterm infants are born without mature lungs, meaning problems with their breathing. Oftentimes, a baby's breathing is too shallow or stops for a few beats per minute. Immature lungs mean that she has to labor while breathing. Many preterm babies will be put on a CPAP breathing machine until their lungs mature enough to breathe on their own. If a preterm baby is imminent before delivery, the mother can be given steroid shots to hasten the maturity of the infant's lungs in utero.

Neurodevelopment

• Some preterm babies may suffer problems from their immature brain and eye functions. Some can be born blind, as their eyesight did not have a chance to develop in the womb. Hearing also can be affected, along with learning capabilities due to an immature brain. Unfortunately, only a wait-and-watch approach can be taken to see how the preterm infant deals with learning in the future to discern the extent of damage.

Motor System

• Most family doctors will track your preterm infant's progress by the date he was expected to be born, rather than his early birth date. This is called the adjusted birth date. Because your preterm baby might be slower in his physical skills such as sitting up, crawling or walking, this will put him on a better track for where he is developmentally. These developmental milestones may happen much slower than other babies his age.

Social Skills

• You may notice that your preterm infant develops social skills more slowly. You may also notice that she is more colicky or sleeps less than other babies, simply due to being immaturely developed. She might be slow to react or slower to interact with you and your family. Be patient, and know that your preterm baby will develop, slowly but surely, into a healthy toddler.