Today we talk about great news within bad news. The bad news is that the number of babies born prematurely is still very high (1 in 10 babies born today in the world does so early), and within that large number of premature babies, there are a few that are born too early, which we call extremely premature , because they arrive in the world between weeks 22 and 28, when a full-term pregnancy is one that has 40 weeks of gestation.
The good news is that care for these babies and medical progress is helping more and more extremely premature babies to thrive despite everything. If we add to this that they are usually very fighter babies (or so we like to believe, that within their fragility they are so strong as to try to survive), hope grows, while work continues to try to reduce the number of premature births through other parallel investigations.
Increasingly survival and with fewer complications
To give this good news, a study has been carried out in the USA, where more than 34,600 stories of babies born between weeks 22 and 28 between 1993 and 2012 have been reviewed. When evaluating survival rates, it was seen that with the Over the years, in those 19 years, it went from 27% to 33% in babies born at 23 weeks and from 63% to 65% in those born at 24 weeks . If the babies were born at 25 or 27 weeks the increase was somewhat less pronounced, and as a curious fact, comment that no change was seen when the babies were born at weeks 22, 26 and 28.
In addition to survival, they assessed major complication-free survival rates, that is, children who remained alive without relatively serious sequelae, which has increased by 2% each year that has passed in babies born between weeks 25 to 28 (a 2% per year gives us a 38% percentage, which is an excellent improvement).
These advances have occurred as the protocols for action have been changed and the care improved. On the one hand, the use of steroids (cortisone) in women before giving birth has been extended in most cases and this helps the lungs to mature a little more before birth and give them a little push to get ahead. . On the other hand, the number of intubated babies has been reduced as soon as they are born, and this seems to generate fewer final complications. In addition, they have decreased the number of infections at birth , which are a risk factor for neonatal sepsis and can end up being fatal.
In the words of Dr. Bárbara Stoll, author of the study:
Our analysis shows that extremely preterm infants’ survival rates and levels of survival without major health problems have improved over 20 years … One of our most important findings is the significant increase in the level of survival without major neonatal health problems in babies born between 25 and 28 weeks. Still, we must focus on reducing the high rates of preterm birth, as approximately 450,000 babies are born prematurely each year in the United States.
And that is the idea, that progress should continue in trying to prevent premature births, because although they have an increasingly better prognosis, survival rates are still low, complications are many, and expenses for health systems are very high. For the good of all, but especially of babies and their families, we must continue research to avoid such a high number of premature babies .
And in the meantime, obviously, continue to advance in techniques and interventions to improve the quality of babies who simply arrived when they were not due to be born, and who deserve to receive all the attention to also have their own opportunity in this world.
More information | Healthfinder
In Babies and more | World Premature Day, Babies Who Came To The World Too Soon, Deaths In Extreme Premature Babies Decrease, 70% Of Extreme Premature Survive At Least One Year
