Premature+Neonatal+Illnesses

Premature Neonatal Illnesses By: Katie Martin, Ally Appling, Rachel Dvorak May 18, 2010



 Abstract:  Babies who are born three or more weeks early are considered “premature”. These babies may develop serious illnesses due to being premature. Premature babies often have significant problems with breathing, eating or staying warm on their own. Their bodies and organs are not fully developed and they often have weak immune systems. Premature birth can be caused by a problem with the fetus, placenta, mother, etc.

Three major premature neonatal illnesses are Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Neonatal Sepsis, and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. Necrotizing Enterocolitis is a gastrointestinal disease that involves infection and inflammation that causes destruction of the intestine. It is mainly caused by bacteria from the gammaproteobacteria group which are pathogenic. Neonatal sepsis is a blood infection that can be caused by a number of bacteria including //E.coli, Listeria// and certain strains of streptococcus such as Group B Streptococcus (GBS). Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) is an oxygen and blood restricting lung condition that is characterized by inflamed lung tissues, fewer alveoli, and pulmonary hypertension. It is caused by prolonged exposure to oxygen therapy, which is needed in keeping premature babies alive. With prompt treatment, many babies with these bacterial infections will recover completely with no remaining problems.

Introduction:

The topic of premature neonatal illnesses became of interest to us when we were watching a "16 and pregnant" marathon on television. During this marathon, we saw that many of these babies were premature and many ended up having certain illnesses due to prematurity. We began to wonder if this had to do with the fact that the mothers were only sixteen years old. We also wanted to discover if this was a common occurence or not. After seeing this on television, we had many unanswered questions about this topic that we wanted to research.

Another reason why this topic is of interest to us is because we want to become pediatric nurses when we start our careers as nurses. As pediatric nurses, we will be exposed to these premature illnesses and we will need to know signs and symptoms in order to diagnose them. We thought this would be beneficial information to study and to keep with us throughout our nursing education and careers.

 ​ Premature Neonatal Illnesses: Necrotizing Enterocolitis Neonatal Sepsis Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Literature Cited:

Infant With Neonatal Sepsis. Digital image. //Nursing Crib//. Admin. Web.
====17 May 2010. []. ====

"Necrotizing Enterocolitis." //KidsHealth//. Ed. Thom E. Lobe. Nemours, Oct. 2007.
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<span style="color: #aa1313; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ogra, Pearay L. //Neonatal Infections: Nutritional and Immunologic Interactions//. Orlando, Fla.: Grune and Stratton, 1984. Print.<span style="color: #aa1313; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

====<span style="color: #aa1313; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #a71616; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Remington, Jack S., and Jerome O. Klein. Infectious Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn <span style="color: #ab1212; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Infant. ====