Caring For Premature Babies In Incubators

Caring For Premature Babies In Incubators

Many people debate over the advances in technology. Is it good that machines are taking over human jobs? This kind of question lingers everywhere. But, like many other things, you couldn’t have seen babies who weigh less than 1.5kg surviving, if there was no technology. The advent of low-cost baby care equipment is a great achievement for scientists, engineers, and medical doctors at the same time. 

There are almost 11.1% of live births in the world. Data shows the population of premature babies is much higher in third-world countries than in high-income countries. In this situation, to curb the numbers of infant mortality incubators have an important role to play. 

What is a premature baby?

You can know by the name that an infant, who is born too soon than medical estimates, is a premature baby. In general terms, a premature baby takes birth before thirty-seven weeks of pregnancy. The preemies are not ready to develop enough to endure the weather conditions of the world by themselves. A majority of premature babies take birth with health complications. A lot of them need to stay in the newborn intensive care units (NICU) for weeks and months surrounded by infant care equipment. 

Based on the immediacy of the baby’s birth, doctors use different terms for premature babies. 

1.   A baby who is born between 36 to 34 weeks of the mother’s pregnancy, is late preterm.

2.   When a baby takes birth between 34 to 32 weeks of pregnancy, is called moderately preterm. 

3.   If the baby comes into the world before 32 weeks of the pregnancy, then s/he is called very preterm.

4.   The baby who takes birth before 25 days of the pregnancy, is extremely preterm. 

In case of internal complications, twins or more offspring, and other health conditions, premature birth happens. There are some striking qualities of a premmie. 

Characteristics of a premature baby

·        If the baby is very preterm, it will look tiny. You can observe that their head is bigger than the rest of the body. Chances are high that they have very little fat in their body. 

·        Premature babies are very thin and their skins are almost transparent. You could see the veins and blood vessels from outside. They have very light and little hair. 

·        Premature babies look sharper than they look around. They don’t have the white protecting shield around them which comes late in the pregnancy. So, they look different than other newborns.  

·        The babies don’t have protective body fat developed yet. So, they cannot bear the natural temperature of the room. They need incubators to sustain the temperature of a womb. 

·        Most babies, especially if they are very preterm, they need the protection of NICU. Most hospitals have care units for such cases of premature birth. It takes months for some babies to get the proper body tone and weight to go outside of incubators. 

General problems of preterm newborn babies

 It is extra challenging for the preemies to cope with the natural weathering conditions you are in. Additionally, they are more susceptible to health conditions than an average newborn. Some of the general conditions are – 

Breathing problems: It is very common for a premature baby to have breathing problems. Since they are undeveloped, their lungs do not function properly the way they should. Also, some babies might have meconium (fluids) in their lungs. In that condition, they need extra oxygen from outside. So, newborn baby care equipment helps them breathe in vulnerable conditions.   

Jaundice: A premature baby lacks a lot of vital functioning that a regular baby has. These systems include the digestive system as well. Some babies face severe jaundice after birth which becomes a life-threatening condition for some as well. Special incubators use different lights to reduce jaundice in infants.

Infections: Generally, newborns are prone to infections. In the case of premature babies, they are more in danger of getting attacked because they don’t have a developed immune system. In an incubator, a baby is protected from the outside conditions and you can monitor them all the time. 

Low birth weight: Some preemies have extremely low birth weight which itself is a challenge for survival as well. They have low body weight and fat, which makes them hypersensitive to temperature. Without external help, they cannot manage to maintain adequate body heat. 

How does an incubator work?

You can compare an incubator to a high-tech bassinet for a baby who is sick. The machines have controlled temperature, oxygen, light, and humidity conditions to keep the premature baby safe. In an incubator, babies have proper ventilation and they intake fluids from IV. They get a supply of medication and blood from IVs as well.  

Vital features of a baby incubator

Many prominent baby care equipment manufacturers create excellent life support gadgets for babies. This high-tech equipment is capable of keeping alive a critical-conditioned premature baby. You can buy low-cost incubators for your home as well if you want to shift your newborn to your home. 

·        Check if the equipment has oxygen and other infusion attachment options in them.

·        Make sure it has an advanced temperature monitoring function

·        The incubator has a proper humidity sensor

GWS is a highly reputed Indian infant care equipment manufacturer that has produced the best quality infant incubators, infant radiant warmers, jaundice meters, neonatal resuscitation systems, and many more for years now.