Infants born at less than 37 weeks of age are usually referred to as babies born prematurely. At birth, the baby usually will undergo intensive treatment to confirm his condition. If there is no problem, after that the baby can grow up healthy and normal like any other.

However, according to researchers from the University of Rhode Island, premature infants often grow into children who are less healthy and facing the risk of heart problems are bigger than other children. They also tend to have problems socially. This conclusion is obtained after observing more than 200 premature infants for 21 years.

According to lead researcher, Mary Sullivan, professor of nursing at the university, the very low birth weight, repeated blood sampling, surgery, and respiratory problems, can affect stress levels in people who had been born prematurely. Sources of stress like this can produce the hormone cortisol is higher, which affects the regulation of metabolism, immune response, and blood circulation.

Less birth weight babies, the higher the risk, according to Sullivan, who is also professor of pediatrics at Alpert Medical School, Brown University. His team found that infants with very low birth weight have a lung condition most weak and higher blood pressure. Premature infants with medical and neurological problems increase the risk of acute and chronic health conditions 32 percent greater than normal weight babies.

He added also, babies born prematurely who had no medical problems-especially the boys-will still be struggling academically. They tend to have problems learning disabilities, have difficulty with math, and require more services at school than children who had been born normally.

This discovery is very important for parents, nurses in intensive care units, teachers and staff in schools, and primary care providers. “By identifying issues to be faced by children who (was) born prematurely in childhood, adolescence, until dewaswa, we will be better prepared to take steps to alleviate the impact,” said Sullivan.