What types of treatment does a premature baby need?
Babies who are born prematurely often need highly specialized care. The treatment a baby needs depends on the types of health problems they have. Treatment for premature babies may include:
- Breathing treatment: When they are first born, babies may need help with breathing. If born before 34 weeks, a medicine called surfactant may be given in the lungs to help babies breathe better. Various types of respiratory equipment may help them breathe. They may need a ventilator, continuous airway pressure (CPAP) or a nasal cannula to give them enough oxygen.
- Isolette: Premature babies are born with little to no fat on their bodies, which is needed to help keep them warm. Special beds, called isolettes, keep them warm. Babies born before 34 weeks gestation, or weighing less than 1500 grams, typically are placed in an isolette, which provides a warm, humid environment for the baby to grow.
- Feeding assistance: Sometimes learning to suck, swallow and breathe is hard for premature infants. While they are learning to eat, they may need a specialized feeding therapist (occupational/speech therapist), a swallow study and potentially feedings through a feeding tube.
Our lactation team can help support mothers with breastfeeding and providing breast milk during this time. Our board-certified lactation consultants, all with NICU nursing backgrounds, provide expert assistance and consultation for breastfed babies both during and after your baby’s hospital stay. Our state-of-the-art human milk lab is located within the NICU. The milk lab stores and prepares human milk feedings and serves as a communication center for patient families and the lactation department.
- Physical therapy: Premature infants can have issues with movement and muscle tone. Specialized physical therapists can provide therapy to babies in the NICU to increase their strength and improve muscle tone.
Why choose us to care for your baby if they are born early and need specialized care?
If you have an extremely premature or underweight baby, you need highly specialized care for their unique needs. Children’s Colorado offers a dedicated Small Baby Care Program that is equipped to improve the long-term quality of life for these babies. Our program includes a clinical team featuring neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners, therapists, dietitians, pharmacists and more than 80 specially trained registered nurses to care for small babies. We are always monitoring data, reviewing best practices and conducting research to provide the best outcomes for our small baby population.
With our expertise as a regional referral center caring for preterm infants with serious complications and severe birth defects, we are equipped to provide the specialized care that preterm babies need. So whether your baby is underweight or born with a heart, breathing, neurological or other medical condition, we have some of the most qualified pediatric specialists in the country to care for them — and they are available 24/7. Here, your baby will never have to wait for care.