A few babies do arrive early, so it’s worth being prepared.

About 7% of babies are born prematurely. There are some known risk factors for ‘prem’ babies like smoking, mums who are very underweight in pregnancy, and twin pregnancies. Bleeding in early pregnancy can also be an indicator of the baby being born early. Some mothers go into labour early because of a vaginal infection, and occasionally the waters break early.

What happens?

If labour begins before 35 weeks, you may be given drugs to delay the birth while you are transferred to a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit. You may also be given drugs, which let your baby’s lungs reach greater maturity so that they are better prepared for breathing when your baby is born.

If your waters break and there are no contractions, you may be admitted to hospital for observation until your baby is old enough to be born or labour has to be induced. Labour may be induced if you develop a raised temperature, which is usually a sign of infection.

If your baby is breech (bottom down) a caesarean section may be carried out.

Problem areas

Depending on how premature your baby is, and whether or not he is poorly, he may need help with:

• Temperature control – he will be put in an incubator.
• Fighting off infection – he will be given antibiotics via a drip. 
• Breathing – he may be given oxygen via a mask or tube. 
• Feeding – he may need to be fed via a tube passed through the nose or mouth into the tummy or a drip until strong enough to go to the breast or take a bottle. 

Emotional care

The baby’s heartbeat, blood pressure, temperature and rate of breathing are constantly measured. Medical care staff will encourage you to give as much care to your premature baby as possible and show you what to do. Sick and premature babies need emotional as well as physical care... and this is best given by the parents.

Remember you need support, too! You may need the help of friends and relatives to get to and from hospital, and to sit with your baby while you take a break.

Contact BLISS (Baby Life Support Systems): Free phone Helpline: 0500 618140 or visit www.bliss.org.uk.

More on special care babies here

Having a baby who needs special care can sometimes put a strain on your relationship - find out more about how to cope here.