Premature infants are babies born before reaching the normal pregnancy period, which is 37 weeks. This may be a result of trauma, inadequate access to maternal attention, and increased poverty of the mother (McGowan & Vohr, 2019). Offspring born prematurely face long-term health effects that can be treated on early recognition or may lead to death in most cases if not cured. This article will discuss the long-lasting health effects faced by preborn kids while giving appropriate statistical data.
Preborn toddlers can have lengthy intelligence and developmental disabilities with organs such as the brain, lungs, eyes, and ears, among others. Precipitate toddlers need special medical treatment in the newborn intensive care unit (McGowan & Vohr, 2019). Approximately in the USA, about 2 out of 11 offspring are born prematurely per year. Diagnosing and treating health issues in kids born prematurely and preventing prematureness can help babies to have healthy and long lives. Prematurity affects a baby’s brain, leading to troubles in physical growth, education, socializing with other tots, communication, and taking care of oneself.
Some long-term health effects on a kid’s brain include cerebral palsy, a condition that affects parts of the brain controlling the muscles, leading to loss of body balance and difficulty standing upright. Children born undeveloped may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a disorder that makes it problematic to control their behaviors and pay full attention when being addressed (McGowan & Vohr, 2019). The infants can also have mental health issues such as depression, a medical state of a strong feeling of sadness, and anxiety, which is a robust sensation of worrying and fear that affects life whether in school, at home, or in other activities.
Prematurity affects the lungs of the infant, causing breathing problems. The baby can be asthmatic, a health ailment that blocks airways, leading to difficulties in breathing. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a lung disease that causes swelling and damage to the lungs (McGowan & Vohr, 2019). This illness causes lung contagions like pneumonia, although the respiratory system may heal with time if well treated. When the lungs are blocked or infected, if not treated early, it may lead to the death of the newborn. Other problems with prematurity include delay in tooth growth, crooked or colored teeth, hearing impairments, intestinal blockage and scarring, infections because immune systems are not fully developed, and vision impairments. Preterm children may be at risk of developing incapacities that may be long-term effects for the rest of their lives.
The above depends on how early the birth occurred and the quality of health care offered after delivery. In the United States of America, approximately 380,001 million premature babies are born, accounting for 9.8% of the birth rate. Worldwide, 15.1 million preterm births occur annually, signifying 11% of the prematurity rate (McGowan & Vohr, 2019). The United States’ preterm ratio of birth is claimed to be among the poorest of high-resource countries. Premature birth is the major cause of infant death, where about one million die below the age of five. This accounts for 18.1% of all deaths among kids below five years and 35% of all demises of babies below 28 days old. In 2020, the premature birth rate decreased by 1.1% from 10.3% in 2019 (McGowan & Vohr, 2019). The above data demonstrates the seriousness of the above phenomenon worldwide.
In conclusion, preborn babies face long-term health challenges, which affect the lungs, brain, eyes, ears, and other body organs. This leads to long-lasting impairment, breathing complications, body balance problems, depression, and anxiety if not treated at early stages. In the USA, quite a large number of premature births transpire yearly. The conditions can be treated if diagnosed at early stages, although some lead to death.
Reference
McGowan, E. C., & Vohr, B. R. (2019). Neurodevelopmental follow-up of preterm infants: What is new?Pediatric Clinics, 66(2), 509-523. Web.