Premature babies
Welcoming a premature baby into the world can bring both happiness and worries for parents and carers.
Welcoming a premature baby into the world can bring both happiness and worries for parents and carers. In Australia, about 8 out of every 100 babies are born early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Most premature babies will thrive as they grow, but some babies can have added challenges with areas of development caused by their early arrival into the world.
Understanding premature birth
Most premature babies are born between 32 and 36 weeks of gestation. Some babies born before 32 weeks can have immediate challenges with their health because their bodies are not as fully developed. They might have trouble with things like breathing, feeding, and staying warm. These babies often need extra care from a medical team in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Special Care Nursery (SCN).
Having a baby in the NICU or SCN can be an emotional and stressful time for parents. While recovering from childbirth andchildbirth and adjusting to this unexpected start to their parenting journey, it’s normal to feel worried or overwhelmed
The doctors and nurses in the NICU or SCN are there to care for your baby and to support you, too. They can answer your questions, provide advice about your baby’s development, and show you ways to help your baby grow strong and healthy. You might see your baby connected to small tubes and monitors. These help track their breathing, heart rate, and oxygen levels to keep them safe and supported.
It’s not always possible to know which babies will be born early. In many cases, no clear reason is found for a premature birth. While some risk factors have been identified, the exact causes of early labour are still not fully understood, and it can be hard to prevent.
Some health issues and situations that can increase the chances of premature birth, such as:
- high blood pressure during pregnancy
- diabetes
- serious illness or infection
- smoking during pregnancy
- being pregnant with twins or more
- having had a premature baby before
If you have any of these risk factors, your healthcare team will closely monitor you and your baby to help keep you both healthy.
How well premature babies can grow and thrive
A baby’s chance of survival depends on how early they are born and how much they weigh at birth. A full-term pregnancy usually lasts between 37 and 42 weeks.
Thanks to modern medical care, many premature babies do very well. About two out of three babies born at 24 weeks who are cared for in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) will survive and go home. By 30 weeks, almost all babies, around 98%, will survive.