Seven basic items for your premature baby

Giving birth to a premature child entails certain difficulties that full-term newborns (around 39 weeks of gestation) do not usually present: low weight and health problems related to the immaturity of their organs. A premature baby is defined as one who is born prematurely and whose development within the mother has not finished and, therefore, they usually need more care.

The World Health Organization considers a baby to be premature when it comes into the world before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Delivery usually has to be rushed and many of the babies have to spend days, even weeks, in the incubator and in intensive care units. Experts emphasize that two of the key tools for those who are born preterm to develop properly is breastfeeding and physical contact with their parents.

In Spain, 28,000 children are born prematurely each year, according to figures published by the Association of Parents of Premature Children (APREM), and between 1996 and 2013 the number of births increased by 36% according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). ). Among the reasons for this increase proposed by studies and experts are the age of the mother, increasingly later; the abuse of elective (and often unnecessary) caesarean sections and the health problems that can lead to both the mother and the baby until the end of the pregnancy.

These babies are usually smaller than usual. Therefore, once they leave the hospital and return home, the ideal is to look for suitable products. From De mamas & De papas of EL PAÍS we selected seven articles for Showcase aimed especially at the needs of these newborns.

1. Dodot Protection Plus Sensitive Diapers Size 0

The first thing that parents and children need is to find diapers according to their size. A normal baby is born with an average weight of between 2.8 and 4 kilos. For these newborns, Dodot has created size 0 of its range of diapers.

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Buy for €9.30 on Amazon

2. Bodysuit, hat and onesie for premature babies up to three months

Another problem that parents of premature babies often encounter is clothing. Amazon offers a selection of bodysuits and pajamas for these little ones, under the heading “For premature babies up to three months”.

Buy for €19.90 on Amazon

3. Miniature Cotton Socks

One of the things that midwives usually say after giving birth is that you must protect your little one's feet: covering the extremities is key so that newborns do not lose heat. In this case, there are also socks for premature babies.

Buy two pairs for €4 on Amazon

4. Reducer for car seat and stroller

Car and stroller seats are usually great for these babies. To solve the problem, an adapter can be purchased that provides the premature with more security when traveling. One option is this anti-allergy reducer; an article specially designed to wrap the baby's body and keep it in an appropriate position when traveling by car. It fits and keeps your little body safe from the movements of the road.

Shop for €26.50 at El Corte Inglés

5. Pacifier for premature babies

Despite the controversy that exists around the use or not of pacifiers, during the first two years of life of the newborn they can be useful. "Wearing a pacifier during the first two years of life does not have irreversible effects on teething, calms the little one, helps him fall asleep and avoids the risk of sudden death", explained in this article Juan Carlos Pérez Varela, president of Orthodontics ( SEDO). These two pacifiers are for little ones between 0 and 2 months and may be the closest to the size of a premature baby.

Buy two units for €7.50 on Amazon

6. A guide for parents of premature babies, turned into a book

A guide for parents of premature babies can be a good tool to understand what others have been through and learn from the experience. In the book Your premature baby. A guide for parents, the author, therapist and pedagogue Victoria Dana, knows first-hand the daily battle faced by parents who, like her, must navigate —with anguish and desperation— a labyrinth of hospitals, medical reports, specialists and neonatal care units. Highly recommended.

Buy for €19.19 on Amazon

7. Teats to prevent infant colic

Another option that exists on the market for premature babies are bottle nipples made especially for them. These in particular are to prevent infant colic, a condition that can be very annoying for the baby and that leads him to cry for hours. These colics demand a lot of patience also on the part of the parents. Although they usually pass, normally, at four months of life, these teats can help calm them because they prevent the entry of air.

Buy two units for €9.05 at El Corte Inglés

*All purchase prices included in this article are current as of April 11, 2018.