Preemie Oxygen Risks

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Now Playing: Preemie Oxygen Risks

Reviewed By: Renee Alli,

SOURCES: 2008 Medical Reference from Medstar. Michael O'Reilly, PhD, Lung Biologist, University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Rochester, NY.

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Narrator:

Four-year old Caleb Shepard loves going airborne. But when he was born three months early, air wasn't even entering his lungs.

Cheryl Shepard:

They said, 'Caleb breathe.' It's the scariest thing in the world to hear when you've just had a baby.

Narrator:

Caleb spent sixteen days on oxygen, a lifesaving treatment for preemies. Though necessary, it seems to affect normal lung growth.

Michael O'Reilly, Ph.D.:

Oxygen appears to inhibit lung development, and what you develop is a lung that remains relatively simplified.

Narrator:

That simplification factors into kids' lives beyond the neonatal intensive care unit.

Michael O'Reilly, Ph.D.:

Their lung function is a little bit reduced, meaning they tire more easily if you exercise them. And they also appear to be more susceptible to asthma, more susceptible to infections.

Narrator:

Doctor O'reilly's research also finds that supplemental oxygen may push a preemie's immune system into overdrive.

Michael O'Reilly, Ph.D.:

It's an exaggerated response to the flu. So, although they're not sick to start with, if they get the flu, they have an exaggerated response. They get sicker.

Narrator:

It's a puzzle they're still working on, with more questions than answers.

Michael O'Reilly, Ph.D.:

Are they producing different molecules trying to fight the virus? And if they are, are they working properly or not working properly?

Narrator:

Caleb was plagued by respiratory illnesses as a baby. Even now, there are lingering effects of his premature birth.

Cheryl Shepard :

If he's sick, if he has a cold, we're more likely to need to use a nebulizer treatment.

Narrator:

Lasting reminders of his early entrance into the world. For WebMD, I'm Damon Meharg.

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