Parents Talks: Care Tips for a premature baby at home

Premature babies are the one who takes birth before completing nine months. The mother delivers the baby in the 7th or 8th month because of some health issues. They are very weak and take birth with many underdeveloped body organs which are afterward maintained by doctors keeping the premature babies in the NICU.

However, this is not the case for all babies. Some premature are fully developed but very light in weight and are allowed by the doctors to take them home to avoid hospital hazards. This is really very happy news for the parents because who wants to celebrate the baby’s birth in the hospital for 2-3 months. The parents stay happy but also tense about the proper caring of their babies.

Premature babies are normal for doctors but it is very risky for the parents to take their proper care at home. However, this is not so hard to manage but yes we know that without experience nothing can get an easy task. So, we are here to clear your many doubts and make you confident to handle your premature baby at home.

Before knowing about the caring tips of premature babies, let us know about some of the features of premature babies:

Features of premature babies

• The premature baby will have low body fat which is an essential element for the body. The fat generates body heat in newborn babies. This is called brown fat and is mostly near the back, shoulders, neck, armpits, and kidneys.

• The unimproved nervous system.

• If premature babies are having breathing problems then Your baby’s lungs may not have developed fully.

• Premature babies have fewer fine hairs in the body which is because of the lanugos. But don’t worry; when they come closer to the date of delivery, then he may have curly hair.

• The baby’s who take birth before the 26th week then he may have sealed eyes.

• Premature babies catch the infection and virus very quickly because of their low immunity

• The baby will deny feeding but as a parent, you have to look after his hunger and try to feed them after intervals of time.

Caring tips for Premature Babies

As we all know that premature babies need extra care as compared to the full month delivered babies. The parents of premature babies should be confident enough to accept the challenges they will face for a couple of months.

One thing you should remember is that the doctors allow those preemies to take home who are completely well and good with their health issues. Still, you have to take many bits of advice regarding his caring when you will take him home. So, be fully ready and prepare and then bring your baby home. Here we have pointed out some of the safety caring tips which will help you in providing the best care of your baby as compared to the hospital.

• Changing Lifestyle: Prepare for many changes in your daily lifestyle. As soon as you become a parent your living lifestyle is completely changed. You have to make the house comfortable according to your baby. If you are in a joint family, every member should understand the situation and try to adjust with the baby. However, this will be a big change for all the family members but it is very important for the baby’s health. You have to adjust to sound pollution, late-night parties, get-togethers at your home or any other such things which are harmful to babies to catch the infection.

• Baby’s room temperature: Consult with your doctor that which temperature is good and comfortable for baby. The Ac is comfortable or should keep the baby in a fan or cooler. What other things to be kept in mind during changing the climate. These precautions should be taken for all the babies but preemies need extra care.

• Maintain hygiene: Premature babies get infected very easily from every little thing so it is necessary to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness around the baby. Wash the clothes with Dettol, free room from dirt and dust, and keep all his surroundings neat and clean.

• Breast Milk is best: Feed Breast milk as much as possible because this has many natural nutrients which your baby actually needs for proper growth. Avoid formula and other milk. The doctor’s first choice is always breast milk because they know how important is the mother’s milk for the babies and especially for the preemies.

• Don’t compare with other babies: The premature babies grow and develop rapidly but not as rapidly as compared the babies of the same number of weeks or months. According to one study, a baby born eight weeks premature can be expected to develop about eight weeks behind babies born at full-term. So, don’t compare your baby with the other one as it will make you upset which is worthless. 

• Clothes of baby: There are no extra tips on the selection of clothes for premature babies. You can wear cotton clothes as you do with full-term babies. But try to wear loose-fitting clothes so that they can be opened easily. If it is winter’s time then layer your baby with dresses but first wore him the cotton dress. Cotton dresses are very friendly with premature baby’s soft skin.

• Track baby’s growth: As you know that they will grow slowly and steadily for starting some months but still keep records of his monthly weight and height. The growth and development progress will help the doctor to know about the monthly health condition of the baby.