Every minute, a baby is born prematurely. Many of these babies are of extremely low birth weight.
Now, new research shows infections which are common in these infants are associated with poor development overall.

Prematurity and low birth weight infants are a good story/bad story all in one. On one hand, these babies are more likely to survive. On the other, this means more of them suffer both short and long term complications, including the risk of serious infections.
“Matthew and Jack, they were born at 31 weeks and 2 days. Um a tad premature, they’ve been in the NICU. Matthew is still here.” Deborah Patire’s twins are doing well now, but their prematurity created some health problems which put them at risk.”
Dr. Andrei Rebarber, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at NYU Medical Center, says, “Premature delivery, they face acute challenges right at the time of delivery and chronic problems. The most immediate problems are breathing, ah and being able to survive on a ventilator, ah getting, maintaining blood pressure and preventing infection. And the acute period of infection was a reason for the acute pre-term birth.”
Now, new research in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows 65% of extremely low birth weight infants have at least one infection during their hospitalization after birth. Over the long run, those with infections are significantly more likely to have problems with nervous system development, such as cerebral palsy and impaired head growth.
It’s believed that perhaps, the infections cause the release of inflammation chemicals, which damage the brain tissue. This is why researchers believe that perhaps finding a way to simply reduce the inflammation response to an infection might reduce the risk of brain injury.
“Taking steroids and antibiotics prior to the actual preterm birth to optimize the chances for the baby to ah, in that prenatal period,” says Dr. Rebarber.
According to the march of dimes every day 1 in 8 babies born in the United States arrives too soon. Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death, which is on the rise for the first time in almost 50 years.
“From a chronic point of view in the intensive care unit, there are multiple problems such as brain bleeds, bowel complications, problems with infections, problems in the eyes with exposure to oxygen settings that all may cause need for surgery and other interventions,”
states Dr. Rebarber.
For Deborah though, good postnatal care has meant her boys are out of the woods.
“It is kinda scary but they were both able to be treated with antibiotics and it kind of cleared it up. It’s been emotional but when you look at them, worth the ride,” states Dr. Rebarber.
The chances of infection increase with decreased birth weight and age at time of birth. The type of bacteria matters little in terms of long term effects, however, those with the most serious types of infections, including fungal infections, were more likely to die.

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