Babies who were born prematurely may benefit more from 'kangaroo care' or skin to skin therapy than intensive care procedures, a leading expert says.
Professor Joy Lawn from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) explains that 'kangaroo care', a treatment that is not as expensive as intensive care is indeed the key. With the 15 million babies who are born at or before 37 weeks, ten percent survive but incur diseases while approximately one million of them die. Among those who survive, three percent have moderate to severe impairments and 4.4 percent suffer from mild impairments, according to the BBC.
Professor Lawn said: "The perception is you need intensive care for pre-term babies. But 85 percent of babies born premature are six weeks early or less. They need help feeding, with temperature control and they are more prone to infection. It's really only before 32 weeks that their lungs are immature and they need help breathing. Unless there are those breathing problems, kangaroo care is actually better because it promotes breastfeeding and reduces infection."
Several studies that will be published in the Pediatric Research journal found that boys are 14 percent more likely to be born prematurely and those who boys who are born prematurely are more likely to die or experience difficulties than girls. Some of the most common disabilities include learning disorders and cerebral palsy.
"One partial explanation for more preterm births among boys is that women pregnant with a boy are more likely to have placental problems, pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure, all associated with preterm births. Baby boys have a higher likelihood of infections, jaundice, birth complications and congenital conditions, but the biggest risk for baby boys is due to preterm birth," Professor Lawn added.
