A premature birth means a baby is born too early. The birth takes place before the 37th week of pregnancy. A typical pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks. Premature babies often have serious health problems, especially when they're born very early.
These problems often vary. But the earlier a baby is born, the higher the risk of health challenges. The following tables show the median birth weight, length and head circumference of premature babies at different gestational ages for each sex. If you give birth to a preterm baby, your baby will likely need to stay in a special nursery unit at the hospital. Some infants need to spend time in a unit that cares for them and closely tracks their health day and night.
This is called a neonatal intensive care unit NICU. A step down from the NICU is an intermediate care nursery, which provides less intensive care. Special nursery units are staffed with health care providers and a team that's trained to help preterm babies. Your baby may need extra help feeding and adapting right after delivery. Your health care team can help you understand what's needed and what your baby's care plan will be.
Feel free to ask them questions. For unknown reasons, Black and Native people in the United States are more likely to have premature births than are women of other races. But premature birth can happen to anyone. In fact, many preterm births have no known risk factors. Not all premature babies have health complications.
But being born too early can cause short-term and long-term medical problems. In general, the earlier a baby is born, the higher the risk of complications.
