Children born before the 37th week of the pregnancy are considered premature babies, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Because these children did not have the full gestational period, they have risks for certain conditions, which can affect their development. The earlier the birth of the child, the higher the child's risk for these conditions. Some of these conditions last a lifetime, and put the child at risk for other developmental conditions.
Intraventricular Hemorrhage
The American Pregnancy Association states that one-third of children born during the 24th and 26th weeks of pregnancy develop intraventricular hemorrhage; this risk does include all premature babies born before week 34. With intraventricular hemorrhage, bleeding occurs in the brain when underdeveloped blood vessels rupture during the labor. With full-term infants, the blood vessels are strong enough to endure the pressures of labor. Intraventricular hemorrhage puts children at risk for other conditions, such as cerebral palsy and developmental delays.
Hydrocephalus
Another complication of a premature birth, hydrocephalus affects about one in 500 children, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Also called water on the brain, hydrocephalus causes a build up of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Normally, cerebrospinal fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord. But hydrocephalus causes too much cerebrospinal fluid to accumulate in the ventricles of the brain, causing them to expand. Symptoms of hydrocephalus include an enlarged head, seizures, vomiting and irritability. To treat hydrocephalus, patients have the extra fluid removed through a shunt system, which drains the cerebrospinal fluid out of the brain through a catheter.
Cerebral Palsy
Premature babies have some risk of developing cerebral palsy, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Cerebral palsy causes a variety of different symptoms, affecting the muscles, digestive system and brain. The neurological symptoms of cerebral palsy include seizures, speech problems and learning disabilities. Cerebral palsy affects patients for their entire lives.
