Research studies on health problems of preemies
Two research studies on the health of premature babies. One gives promising results, the other gives disappointing outcomes.
This research gives hope to parents of preemies. Researchers at the University of Adelaide, Australia found that a fatty acid in the brain is not well-developed when babies are born before the 33rd week of pregnancy. The lipid has been identified as omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and insufficiency of this compound in the preemie’s brain may lead to impaired mental development.
The researchers went on and studied the effect of a DHA-rich diet on preemies’ mental development. DHA supplementation was given through the mother’s milk or the infant formula. Breast milk was enriched with DHA by giving breastfeeding moms 1000 mg DHA per day in the form of tuna capsules.
The study looked at 657 preterm babies and the results showed that:
- Female preemies responded better to DHA enrichment than male preemies, and thus showed better mental development.
- Preemies weighing less than 1250 mg responded well to DHA supplementation.
It is not clear why baby boys did not respond well to DHA. The researchers hypothesized that this may be due to the fact that baby boys have faster metabolic rates than girls. At any rate, more research is necessary before this type of diet can be given to all promise. But it sure is promising.
Another research on preemies, however, did not show positive results. Preemies are highly susceptible to systemic infections because their immune system is not yet well-developed. If they survive the infection, they may suffer from neurological and developmental problems. British researchers investigated whether prophylactic administration of a blood cell growth factor to premature babies can reduce the risk of systemic infection and increase survival of preemies. Blood growth factors would raise white blood cell counts, the blood cells which primarily fight infection. The study results showed that although the white blood cell counts did rise, there was no improvement in infection and survival rates. More in depth studies on neonatal immune system is needed before similar procedures can be applied.
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