In some cases, though, unexpected difficulties and challenges occur along the way. Some newborns are considered high risk. This means that a newborn has a greater chance of complications because of conditions that occur during fetal development, pregnancy conditions of the mother, or problems that may occur during labor and birth. Some complications are unexpected and may occur without warning. Other times, there are certain risk factors that make problems more likely.

Fortunately, advances in technology have helped improve the care of sick newborns. Under the care of specialized physicians and other healthcare providers, babies have much greater chances for surviving and getting better today than ever before.

Some of the complications we will be discussing are the following:

Occasionally during the birth process, the baby may suffer a physical injury that is simply the result of being born. This is sometimes called birth trauma or birth injury.

One of the most important parts of care for premature babies is a medication called a corticosteroid. Research has found that giving the mother a steroid medication at least 48 hours prior to delivery greatly reduces the incidence and severity of respiratory diseases and intraventricular hemorrhage in the baby.

There are many factors linked to premature birth. Some directly cause early labor and birth, while others can make the mother or baby sick and require early delivery. The following factors may contribute to a premature birth:

Based on 2001 data from the National Center for Health Statistics

s occur because of the baby’s size or the position of the baby during labor and delivery. Conditions that may be associated with a birth injury include:

It is not clear why PVL occurs. This area of the brain is very susceptible to injury, especially in premature babies, whose brain tissues are fragile. PVL may happen when the brain receives too little oxygen. Most premature babies suffer from PVL. Other factors that may be associated with PVL include early rupture of membranes (amniotic sac) and infection inside the uterus. This neurological disorder may be serious. Severe bleeding or tissue damage in the brain can destroy brain cells and cause long-term illness for the baby.

A baby born before 37 weeks of pregnancy is considered premature, that is, born before complete maturity. Slightly fewer than 12 percent of all babies are premature. Twins and other multiples are about six times more likely to be premature than single birth babies. The rate of premature single births is slightly increasing each year.

Spitting up and dribbling milk with burps or after feedings is fairly common in newborns. This is because the sphincter muscle between the stomach and the esophagus (the tube from the mouth to stomach) is weak and immature.

Some topics in this essay:
Birth Defects, Age Teen, Injuries/Trauma Occasionally, Birthweight Low, Cephalohematoma Cephalohematoma, Vomiting Spitting, Neurologic Intraventricular, SIDS Prevention, Fractures Fracture, Causes Prematurity, low birthweight, premature babies, birth defects, intraventricular hemorrhage, birth weight, lip cleft, cleft palate, low birth weight, low birth, cleft lip, periventricular leukomalacia, lip cleft palate, cleft lip cleft, born 37 weeks, respiratory distress syndrome,