Follow-up of premature babies – what should the family doctor know?

Abstract

Once discharged from the neonatology unit, the preterm baby should be signed up to be surveyed by a family doctor, to prevent and reduce the risk of developmental delay through early identification of risk factors and guidance towards appropriate treatment programs. The number of newborns at risk discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is growing due to improvement in in­ten­sive care techniques and build-up of field experience. Etio­lo­gic risk factors for extreme prematurity are low so­­cio­eco­no­mical status, extreme mother’s age (underage and over 35-40 years old) and the increase in pregnancies ob­tained through assisted reproductive techniques. When the preterm baby surpasses acute complications and is dis­charged from intensive care, we have to take into con­si­de­ra­tion chronic complications of prematurity, that can have an impact on all organs and systems. The family doc­tor has a dual role, to prevent preterm birth through careful mo­ni­to­ring pregnancies, as well as the follow-up of former preterm new­born.