Why Premature Babies Need Special Care

Premature babies need extra help to survive outside the protection of their mother's womb. He or she may stay in the postnatal ward or be placed in special unit called a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), or Special care Baby Unit.

Neonatal means newborn, and these units are designed to give your new baby the best care that he or she needs at this time.

Premature babies often have trouble with their temperature, breathing, and feeding. The goal in neonatal units is to help babies carry out these three important functions.

Placing babies in an incubator, or hot-cot, will maintain their temperature; a ventilator or respirator will help them breathe. It's possible that your baby will be fed by way of a fine tube through his nose or mouth, into his stomach or a vein.