Bringing Home and Raising Preemie Babies – The First Steps
Congratulations! If you are reading this, you may have had a scary birth and delivery with your premature baby. Things may not have gone as you originally planned. However, the most important thing is that your baby is healthy and ready to come home with you! So...now what? This article discusses your child’s adventure from before birth to beyond in this new world. It also touches on how to help preemie babies “catch up” with their full-term peers.
Cozy Hideout: Baby’s Home Before Birth
Prior to birth, your child was safe and warm in the cozy home you created for them. Your child had minimal visual input, as they were comforted with a dim red glow that fluctuates cyclically as days pass. They could hear muffled sounds as well as the calming and gentle “swooshing” of your heartbeat. The baby had free ability to move around in their cozy home without the effects of gravity weighing on them. They had the comforting sensation of deep pressure around them, provided by the walls of the uterus. Their body temperature was effectively regulated by your own stable temperature.
Busy Town: Baby’s Home After Birth
This all suddenly changed as they entered the world, a little before schedule. After birth, they were likely cared for in a special care nursery, or the neonatal intensive care unit. Their visual system experienced brighter lights for the first time, despite being under developed. Their young ears are hearing new sounds for the very first time in a much busier environment than before. There is this whole new experience of gravity, and its quite a lot for those little arms, legs and neck to move against the force of gravity outside of the womb. It limits their ability to move their bodies as they once did when floating in utero. They are now required to maintain a stable body temperature all on their own.
Now, of course this happens to all children, however, if your child was born premature they may need a bit more time to adjust to their new environment. During this alarming environment change, they may also be experiencing intrusive, lifesaving, medical procedures.
Road to Riches: Baby’s Path to Catching Up to Their Peers
There is a lot of growth and development that will continue to occur despite life outside of the womb starting prematurely. They need a bit more time to develop their vision before being able to look around the room and recognize faces or even their own hands. They will need additional time to develop their strength enough to move their limbs around their environment. Their weight will be monitored often to ensure sufficient intake and output. This will ensure that your child develops enough body fat to help control their temperature better on their own. It will take a bit of time, but before you know it, they will begin to look more like a full term baby.
After your child has gained enough weight, is regulating their temperature, maintaining a stable heart rate, breathing effectively on their own, and you and your family are independent with feeding your child, it will be time to go home with your baby. If your child is born premature, you will be referred to a preterm newborn interdisciplinary follow up clinic.
These clinics are designed to ensure that you and your family are transitioning well to home life. They also help ensure that your baby is meeting a variety of developmental milestones. It is often at these clinics that your child can be referred to your state’s Early Intervention program (a federally mandated program to serve the needs of children from ages 0-3 years old). This program also assures that your child is receiving the care that they need on their path to catching up to their full-term peers.
Potential Referrals for Preemie Babies
Your child and family may be referred to a variety of support services such as:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Developmental therapy
- Vision therapy
- Feeding therapy
- Social work
It is the goal of each of these professionals to assist you and your family. The wish to provide the most nurturing environment possible to ensure that your child meets various milestones within a reasonable period of time.
Do you have more questions regarding the development of your child or how an early intervention program can help preemie babies? If you do, please call our infant specialists at Chicago Pediatric Therapy & Wellness Center at 773-687-9241. Our therapists can work with your baby to set them on the right path to success!
