Day of the premature baby: the history of its origin and its purpose

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The birth of children brings joy to people - a new little man has appeared, a new page of life has been opened. But this event does not always bring happiness and peace. Sometimes it is overshadowed by an unreached period, on which the state of he alth of the baby directly depends. There are many such cases in the world, and it was decided to allocate a separate day for such children.

Premature Baby Day: Cause

The idea of a Preterm Baby Day first appeared in 2009 at the European Newborn Care Foundation. It was singled out in order to draw the attention of society to such children, because they are still too defenseless and require constant medical monitoring, help, love and care of loved ones. On Premature Baby Day (November 17), doctors and other professionals want to convey to the entire public that every year around the world, approximately 15 million babies are born prematurely. Of all this number, many die, another part of these babies live with disabilities (physical andneurological), and only a small percentage of children live and develop without any problems.

Premature baby - who is it?

A small lump with a beating heart is born completely defenseless. Babies born at 22-37 weeks of gestation and having a weight of 500 g or more are considered premature. In Russia, according to statistics, about 100,000 such babies are born every year. Previously, babies with low weight (500-600 g) could be raised only by well-known clinics in London and Berlin. But today in our country the level of medical care and service has reached high positions, so babies with such a weight have a chance for a full life.

Premature Baby Day is also called White Petal Day. This is no coincidence, because such babies are so tender, vulnerable and defenseless that they resemble small white petals of a cherry or apricot during an unexpected frost in the spring.

What care is provided for premature babies

Babies born prematurely require maximum medical and maternal attention. In addition, their parents also need psychological support. By organizing the Day of the Premature Baby in Russia, volunteers, specialists and simply caring people call on society to pay attention to all the needs of the participants in this problem.

And the needs are different, and they depend on the birth weight of the baby, his ability to breathe, swallow, show reflexes. Children are worried about temperature, noise, light in the room, such babies really need their mothers to beconstantly nearby (it has been proven that with frequent physical contact with the mother, the lungs of children open faster, neurological problems become less). It is vital for a child to connect devices that would control his nervous, respiratory and digestive systems. In addition, they need expensive medicines, special clothes, diapers, pacifiers, and so on. The Day of the Premature Baby was created with the aim of conveying to the average person that this problem is not only of individuals, but of the whole society. On this day, it is useful to talk about the prevention of premature birth and the psychological and physical hygiene of a pregnant woman.

Prematurity Day Traditions

Most often, various programs, interviews, publications in all available media are organized on this day. Many local groups invite musical groups to organize charity concerts and events. It has already become a tradition on the International Day of Premature Babies to launch white balloons into the sky as a symbol of the defenselessness and purity of such babies.