Over and Under Stimulation in Premature Infants

She was only 3 ½ pounds and barely 16 inches long. At 8 weeks premature, my little daughter's worst diagnosis so far was jaundice, thank heavens. But we soon learned, as she would squirm and put her hands over her face, that we could be harming more than helping her development just by taking pictures.

There is a delicate balance in dealing with premature infants. One has to be very careful not to over stimulate or under stimulate this tiny new life. Little things that we would never think about in a normal situation became very big to us.

Over Stimulation in Preemies

Just as full term infants need a lot of sleep, preemies need more. They need a quiet, calm environment as they were taken from their safe womb too early. Usually these tiny infants wind up in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where bells and alarms are going off all the time.

Most infants can sleep through anything but the sleep may not be as productive. To off-set the stimulation in the noise, the parents can kangaroo care their preemie. Kangaroo care is the term for skin-to-skin contact. I would lie back in an easy chair and cuddle my preemie (skin-to-skin) next to my heart. I could feel her body relax as she listened to my heartbeat and she would get a better quality rest.

For those infants who cannot be taken from their incubators, have the parents take a scrap of flannel and for several hours keep it inside their own clothes to get their body scent on it. Then leave the cloth with the baby. When I did this for my daughter, she calmed down when I could not be there. If her nurses forgot to put the cloth close to her face, she would fuss until she could smell me.

Another big stimulus for preemies is picture-taking. You have to severely limit how many photographs you take each day because the flash can hurt their tiny eyes. We discovered this the hard way when our daughter would cringe and put her hands over her eyes after a flash.

Also be sure to limit how many people visit your infant at a time. In the NICU it is easier to control how many people are in visiting at a time. We were limited to two people at the bedside at a time. But when you get home, try to limit the number of visitors. Over stimulation resulting from loud conversation, multiple people holding the baby, et cetera can be very taxing on this tiny person.

Under Stimulation in a Preemie

On the other hand, you also have to be careful not to let your baby sleep all the time. One chief complaint of preemie moms is how hard it is to keep the baby awake to eat. Our daughter would fall asleep while taking a bottle and we would have to wake her to finish. Your baby can learn bad habits early if you allow him or her to take just an ounce or two at a time without finishing. You will be feeding the baby all day.

If your baby is having a hard time staying awake to eat, try loosening the blankets or clothing. If he's all snuggled up nice and warm, there is little incentive to stay awake. Often, I would have to take my daughter's booties off and the chill to her toes was enough to keep her awake through the end of the bottle.

As your preemie gets a little older, you will have to work hard with tummy time. This is time your baby spends on her stomach, working on pushing up with her arms and holding her head up. My daughter hated this and would refuse to push up or hold her head up. You can help by getting down on the floor and giving your baby something to look at. Talk, smile and encourage him. Start small and work up to longer tummy time periods. It will feel cruel at first, especially since all you have learned as a preemie parent is to let your baby rest.

It is a delicate balance but one you will find with your baby. Learn the cues your baby gives. Each child is very different but all preemies will benefit from their parents finding balance.

Author's Note: This article is based on my own experiences as the parent of a premature infant and those of my acquaintances in similar situations. Please do not substitute my advice for that of a doctor's.