When is a baby considered premature?

Under normal conditions, a pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, but the baby is considered mature enough to adapt to the environment outside the womb from the 37th week of gestation.

All babies born before 37 weeks of gestation are considered premature. The earlier the baby is born, the greater the risk to his life and to complications.

Preterm infants are divided into subcategories according to gestational age:

Extreme premature (less than 28 weeks)

Very premature (28 to 32 weeks)

Moderate to late preterm (32 to 37 weeks)

What does it mean to be premature?

According to the health conditions at birth, premature infants need special medical care in a neonatal intensive care unit. They must remain in it until their systems and organs can function without help, because because they are born very early, premature babies weigh much less than babies who have completed their gestation.

They may have health problems because their organs did not have enough time to develop. Some premature babies may have:

Respiratory problems

feeding difficulties

Cerebral palsy

developmental delay

vision problems

hearing problems