World Premature Child Day: the serious complications that affect the baby

Like every year, every November 17 is World Premature Child Day, a date that seeks to raise awareness about the challenge of these little ones who fight for their lives to stay in this world and inform the population about this problem.

The World Health Organization considers all gestation premature and the most frequent causes are usually multiple pregnancies, infections and chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. Worldwide, 15 million children are born prematurely each year and approximately one million of them die annually due to complications in childbirth.

According to the Online Birth Certificate Registration System-MINSA, so far this year it has been presented and the departments with the most registrations are the following:

For this reason, due to the World Day of the Premature Child, specialists of the NGO “Una Vida Por Dakota”, present the five serious complications that a premature baby presents:

• Water respiratory distress syndrome

It is caused by the premature baby’s lungs not having the time to fully develop. It occurs when a substance called surfactant (liquid) builds up and prevents the lungs from filling with air.

Viruses and bacteria such as rotavirus, influenza, pneumococcus, measles, among other infectious diseases can be easily transmitted from person to person by coughing, sneezing or talking. The most prone to contracting these viruses are pregnant mothers and babies, which can be prevented through vaccination. For this reason, it is recommended to comply with the vaccination schedule of the mother and also the child according to their chronological age, regardless of their gestational age and their weight at birth.

The Ministry of Health contemplates 17 free vaccines that are applied during the child’s first 5 years. If you have a premature baby at home, enter the web www.vacunarparalavida.pe, where you will find more than 8 thousand active health facilities for vaccination nationwide; locate the closest to your home and go to vaccinate against diseases such as rotavirus, influenza, pneumococcus, diphtheria, among others.

This is another complication of preterm labor, in which babies may stop breathing for 20 seconds or more because the area in the brain that controls breathing is still developing. Sometimes it is accompanied by a slow heart rate (bradycardia).

• Hemorragia intraventricular

It is a neurological complication that can appear in premature infants who have not reached 1.5 kg at birth and consists of bleeding from the cerebral ventricles. This is because the blood vessels in the brain of premature babies are not yet fully developed, making them extremely fragile.

• Hypotension or low blood pressure

It is a condition commonly found in neonatal intensive care. Low blood pressure is present, so it will be necessary to control it and, in some cases, to perform a blood transfusion.

Thus, mothers are a fundamental piece for a healthy pregnancy. For this reason, care is recommended from pregnancy to prevent future complications, with a healthy diet, completing your vaccination schedule with the following vaccines: vaccine against dTpa, which prevents diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis; the flu vaccine, which prevents seasonal flu; and the hepatitis B vaccine.

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