The birth of a new family member is perhaps one of the most exciting times in life. However, when babies are born prematurely, it can be a frightening and nerve-wracking experience for everyone involved. Luckily, medical science continues to advance, so that doctors can handle the complications of preterm births better than ever.
Prematurely born babies, or “preemies” exit the womb before 37 weeks gestational age. Between weeks 34 and 37, most human fetuses undergo adequate maturing of a range of important organs, including the lungs, which are among the last organs to mature. When this important time for organ development is cut short, premature babies face increased risk for cerebral palsy, delays in development, hearing problems, and vision problems. The earlier the baby is born, the higher their risk of having one or more of these conditions.
75% of preterm infants will survive if they have access to the appropriate treatments. For example, a premature baby can breathe with the help of a ventilator for a few days or even weeks as its lungs finish developing. That said, about 25% of the 15 million babies born preterm every year do not survive, and preterm birth remains the leading cause of infant death worldwide.
However worrisome the circumstances or frightening the odds, it’s important to remember that many preemies are born frighteningly early, but end up growing into beautiful, healthy, complication-free babies. In this video, you can see a mother cradling her preterm baby boy for the first time. He was born after only 27 weeks and five days of gestation.
In other words, this baby was born only five days into his third trimester. He had just begun to go to sleep and wake up on a regular schedule, and his lungs barely crossed the finish line in terms of being able to function outside the womb with medical help. His eyesight is likely still fairly undeveloped. However, he has the medical assistant and happy, healthy mother he needs to make it in the outside world.
You can check out the video here:
By the way, in a rare show of internet compassion, a lot of people have written comments rooting for this little guy, and sharing stories about people in their family who survived being born prematurely.
If you know someone who was born preterm but now lives their life to the fullest, share your story so that you can offer comfort and hope to families like the one in this video!
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