In the Czech Republic, more than eight thousand children are born prematurely every year. Complications can only be partially affected by treatment. Chief Physician of the Department of Neonatology at Brno National University Hospital Andrea Staníková estimates that the share of premature babies in the total number of newborns this year will not decrease until the end of the year. “Usually around nine percent,” he stated.

Premature babies, that is, born before thirty-seven weeks of gestation, usually weigh around two kilograms. At the Brno hospital, they treat about fifty children weighing less than one kilogram each year, and an average of five children weighing less than five hundred grams. Thanks to changes in medicine, they have even managed to increase the percentage of survival without long-term consequences. “After birth, the most important thing for them is to start breathing, so there are various ways to help with breathing. It depends, twenty-four weeks of pregnancy is the limit when we don’t know how it will turn out. Babies born after the twenty-sixth week have a good chance of surviving without complications.” Staníková adds that a normal pregnancy usually lasts forty weeks.

Premature babies have a challenging start to life. Their condition often requires long-term hospital stays and intensive care by medical professionals. “Lung tissue development in children is limited and can be accompanied by chronic lung disease. “In premature babies, quality of life is also worsened by visual impairment.” explained the neonatologist Klara Skorkovská.