During your first or early second trimester of a your pregnancy is when the most of the fetal organs develops..However, your baby’s brain begins to develop in the third week of your pregnancy and continues developing throughout your pregnancy and after birth. Since your baby’s brain is relatively immature at birth, it is more vulneable to injury from prematurity than other body organs, such that is is expected and part of the medical routine to examine a premature baby’s brain with ultrasound soon after birth.
Most common and I can say, the most feared problem in the brain of an extremely premature baby is intraventricular hemorrhage. This type of bleeding occurs in or around the cavities, or ventricles, of the brain. Such bleeding can occur when fragile blood vessels in the brain rupture in the setting of changes in the baby’s blood pressure or blood oxygen level. Blood collects in the area of fragile blood vessels. It can also spread to the ventricles of the brain or into the brain tissue itself. Early studies identified intracranial hemorrhage as being responsible for most of the severe brain damage noted in pre-term infants.
The brain of your premature infant has in it a network of blood vessels that are very vulnerable to fluctuations of pressure. This pressure can be influenced by temperature. If the temperature is too high like in the onset of an infection, convulsions may occur. Convulsions or seizures render the brain unable to receive oxygen supply and you already know that in order for the brain to function and develop properly, it needs a constant supply of oxygen. Lack of oxygen supply to the brain of a premature infant may cause him to develop cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition affecting motor power and coordination and is related to damage to the brain early in life. Premature babies are at greater risk for cerebral palsy than full-term babies, though doctors don’t know exactly why. “Preterm birth can interrupt the normal myelination process. Therefore, this report may help to explain the brain damage seen in premature babies, some of whom have cerebral palsy,” said Michael Katz, M.D., Senior Vice President for Research and Global Programs at the March of Dimes, which is supporting Dr. Back.
Premature babies are at greater risk for cerebral palsy than full-term babies, though doctors don’t know exactly why.
Mylelination process is the process of the brain that develops the nerve fibers. It is akin to the network of copper wires being insulated by the rubber tubing. Without the myelination process or it being interrupted, the nerves are at risk for insults on the premature infant bodies since the brain is in charge of all the operations of the multi-functions of the body. “Until we find the answers to preventing prematurity, research such as this may lead us to new ways to prevent brain damage and has the potential to improve the lives of thousands of infants.”
Prematurity is the leading killer of America’s newborns and has increased 29 percent since 1981. More than 470,000 babies are born prematurely each year in the United States. Premature babies often die or suffer lifelong consequences, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, blindness, and hearing loss.
According to research conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 25 percent of extremely premature babies have neurological problems at 18 to 22 months, and 17 percent will develop cerebral palsy. The magnitude of this problem in the preterm newborn and, in particular, the importance of prevention of this injury is enormous.
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