Premature babies

Dr. Schwentker says that prematurity is generally defined as a birth weight of less than 5.5 pounds; however, immaturity of a baby's organs is more significant than prematurity. A film documents the public procedures in place for rescuing a baby born prematurely at home. Dr. Gordon shows what staff do when a baby is admitted to the premature nursery: suction airways, supply oxygen, transfer to incubators with lesser oxygen concentration, administer moist heat, and monitor for infections. Nurse Abernathy discusses maintaining a constant temperature for the infant and feeding premature babies by polyethylene tube, gavage, or medicine dropper until bottle feeding is possible. A film shows the progress of a premature infant over a few weeks. Dr. Gordon raises the question of the cost justifying the results of caring for premature babies and concludes that both long-term development research and actual evidence, such as his teenage son and other thriving children born as small as two pounds, prove the worth.