Retinal Disorders – Premature Babies

Also called: Preemies

Almost 1 of every 10 infants born in the United States are premature, or preemies. A premature birth is when a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks.

Important growth and development happen throughout pregnancy – especially in the final months and weeks. Because they are born too early, preemies weigh much less than full-term babies. They may have health problems because their organs did not have enough time to develop. Problems that a baby born too early may have include

• Breathing problems
• Feeding difficulties
• Cerebral palsy
• Developmental delay
• Vision problems
• Hearing problems

Preemies need special medical care in a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU. They stay there until their organ systems can work on their own.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Apnea of prematurity (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Intraventricular hemorrhage of the newborn (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Necrotizing enterocolitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neonatal weight gain and nutrition (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Osteopenia – premature infants (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Premature infant (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Preterm labor (Medical Encyclopedia)

The retina is a layer of tissue in the back of your eye that senses light and sends images to your brain. In the center of this nerve tissue is the macula. It provides the sharp, central vision needed for reading, driving and seeing fine detail.

Retinal disorders affect this vital tissue. They can affect your vision, and some can be serious enough to cause blindness. Examples are

• Macular degeneration – a disease that destroys your sharp, central vision
• Diabetic eye disease
• Retinal detachment – a medical emergency, when the retina is pulled away from the back of the eye
• Retinoblastoma – cancer of the retina. It is most common in young children.
• Macular pucker – scar tissue on the macula
• Macular hole – a small break in the macula that usually happens to people over 60
• Floaters – cobwebs or specks in your field of vision

NIH: National Eye Institute

• Amaurosis fugax (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Central serous choroidopathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Electroretinography (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Fluorescein angiography (Medical Encyclopedia)
• High blood pressure and eye disease (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Home vision tests (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Intravitreal injection (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Retinal artery occlusion (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Retinal vein occlusion (Medical Encyclopedia)