What happens when a premature baby is born?

It can be very distressing to know that you are going to deliver your baby prematurely, and perhaps not in the way you would have liked. Try to hold on to the fact that what really matters - and what the medical staff will be aiming to ensure - is the health and well-being of you and your baby.

Many premature babies are delivered by Caesarean section: this is often either because they are in distress or to protect their very soft skulls. If you know in advance that you are going to have a Caesarean, the medical staff will be able to answer your questions about this procedure.

Some mothers do deliver vaginally. In this case the labour can be faster than that of a full-term baby; because premature babies are smaller the cervix does not always have to be fully dilated for the baby to pass through. As the baby is less likely to be in the correct position for birth, with his head down, forceps may be used to protect his head from damage.

It is possible that while you are in labour, you might be transferred to a hospital with a consultant obstetric unit and a neonatal intensive unit (NNICU) or Special Care baby Unit (SCBU). If this isn’t possible, in a few cases a mother can find herself in one hospital while her baby is transferred to another with a special neonatal unit.

The difference between Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NNICU) and Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) lies in the level of care needed by each baby. Care given in SCBU is less intensive than that given in a NNICU. Sometimes babies who are very ill or small start in NNICU and progress to SCBU as their condition improves. The SCBU is less warm than the NNICU and some units have an even cooler room to acclimatise babies to cooler temperatures before going home.

Visit babyworld's Prem Babies discussion forum – run by a mum with first-hand experience of this worrying time.