Hannah Beauregard
Every year about 500,000 babies are born premature, that 's 1 of every 8 infants born in the U.S. When a baby is premature that means the baby was born before 37 weeks of pregnancy when a full term of pregnancy is 40 weeks.(Premature babies, medline plus) Because of infants being born so early and not fully developed they have a much higher chance of have some health related issues. A few examples are Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Chronic Lung Disease, and Retinopathy of Prematurity, Patent ductus arteriosus, in some cases a baby that is born premature may not survive. Premature babies are usually placed in the intensive care unit (ICU).(March of dimes)
Respiratory distress syndrome is a very common disorder that almost all infants that are born before 28 weeks end up having. A premature infant may have issues breathing problems due to not fully developed lungs, so they are not able to provide them selfs with enough oxygen to breathe. If the infant 's lungs lack a substance called surfactant, what this does is doesn 't allows their lungs to expand. This is a disorder that rarely occurs with infants that serve a full term inside the womb. RDS is more common in premature babies that are born about 6 weeks before their due dates. This disorder is more common in premature babies because of
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This disease is caused by damaged tissue on the inside of the lungs that cause serious breathing problems for them. If the tissue on the inside of the lungs is damaged it could cause an excess amount of mucus or the lungs could collapses. Premature babies that are born less than 2.2 lb 's , are those who are most likely to end up having this disease. A ventilator is something that a baby might have to be put on if they have chronic lung disease because it will keep them breathing at a normal pace. A disease that could causes chronic lung disease is Patent ductus arteriosus. (Chronic lung