Preterm Infants and Development
Victoria Davis
Excelsior College
Another physical complication of a preterm infant is blindness or Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Retinopathy of Prematurity develops is the leading cause of vision loss in children. Because of being born prematurely the full development of the eyes is interrupted. ROP cause the blood vessels of the eye to grow abnormally and spread throughout the retina. Because these new blood vessels are fragile, they can leak blood into the eye; causing scar tissue to form and pull the retina away from the back of the eye, consequently causing vision loss (http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/premature-babies-eye-problems). Other risk factors for ROP include anemia, …show more content…
They display a higher rate of learning disabilities and lower scores on tests of reading, writing, math, and spelling (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle). . They are more likely to present with oral defensiveness and feeding problems, tactile defensiveness, and general sensory integration problems, which may be due to the fact that they spend the first few weeks or months of their life in an environment that is, more stressful and overstimulating because of the special lights, monitors, and other equipment that they are surrounded by (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/). Preterm infants may also show difficulties with self-regulation as well as integration and organization of sensory information. Studies have also indicated that premature infants and young children have complications with recognition and integration of sensory information. It has also been noted that children that were born preterm demonstrate poor attention-focusing skills as well as poor functioning skills. During infancy there may be signs of deficiency of behavioral, arousal, and autonomic …show more content…
My sister was 31 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to twin girls Alexis and Alexandria; one weighing 1 pound and 3 ounces and the other weighing 1 pound and 5 ounces. Alexandria did not survive; I can't recall if she weighed the most or not. But my niece Alexis is now 26 years old and I did not certain delays that she had grown up. Although she participated in gymnastics since the age of 4 and was a cheerleader throughout high school, she was not very social or outgoing with a lot of her squad members. She struggled academically and my sister always had to have her tutored. Her biggest struggle always seemed to be math and science. After graduating high school she took a year off and then decided to go to college, it took her longer than the average person to complete her degree. My oldest sister is 13 years older than me, therefore I was young when she was born and I often wondered why he seemed a little developmentally delayed and her younger brother (who was a full term baby) was more advanced in almost everything. After reading all of the different articles, it's all very clear to me now, why it took her longer to accomplish certain things but I always admired her
Victoria Davis
Excelsior College
Another physical complication of a preterm infant is blindness or Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Retinopathy of Prematurity develops is the leading cause of vision loss in children. Because of being born prematurely the full development of the eyes is interrupted. ROP cause the blood vessels of the eye to grow abnormally and spread throughout the retina. Because these new blood vessels are fragile, they can leak blood into the eye; causing scar tissue to form and pull the retina away from the back of the eye, consequently causing vision loss (http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/premature-babies-eye-problems). Other risk factors for ROP include anemia, …show more content…
They display a higher rate of learning disabilities and lower scores on tests of reading, writing, math, and spelling (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle). . They are more likely to present with oral defensiveness and feeding problems, tactile defensiveness, and general sensory integration problems, which may be due to the fact that they spend the first few weeks or months of their life in an environment that is, more stressful and overstimulating because of the special lights, monitors, and other equipment that they are surrounded by (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/). Preterm infants may also show difficulties with self-regulation as well as integration and organization of sensory information. Studies have also indicated that premature infants and young children have complications with recognition and integration of sensory information. It has also been noted that children that were born preterm demonstrate poor attention-focusing skills as well as poor functioning skills. During infancy there may be signs of deficiency of behavioral, arousal, and autonomic …show more content…
My sister was 31 weeks pregnant when she gave birth to twin girls Alexis and Alexandria; one weighing 1 pound and 3 ounces and the other weighing 1 pound and 5 ounces. Alexandria did not survive; I can't recall if she weighed the most or not. But my niece Alexis is now 26 years old and I did not certain delays that she had grown up. Although she participated in gymnastics since the age of 4 and was a cheerleader throughout high school, she was not very social or outgoing with a lot of her squad members. She struggled academically and my sister always had to have her tutored. Her biggest struggle always seemed to be math and science. After graduating high school she took a year off and then decided to go to college, it took her longer than the average person to complete her degree. My oldest sister is 13 years older than me, therefore I was young when she was born and I often wondered why he seemed a little developmentally delayed and her younger brother (who was a full term baby) was more advanced in almost everything. After reading all of the different articles, it's all very clear to me now, why it took her longer to accomplish certain things but I always admired her