Symptoms:

A premature infant's organs are not fully developed. The infant needs special care in a nursery until the organ systems have developed enough to sustain life without medical support. This may take weeks to months.

A premature infant will have a lower birth weight than a full-term infant. Common physical signs of prematurity include:

• Body hair (lanugo)
• Abnormal breathing patterns (shallow, irregular pauses in breathing called apnea)
• Enlarged clitoris (female infant)
• Problems breathing due to immature lungs (neonatal respiratory distress syndrome) or pneumonia
• Lower muscle tone and less activity than full-term infants
• Problems feeding due to difficulty sucking or coordinating swallowing and breathing
• Less body fat
• Small scrotum, smooth without ridges, and undescended testicles (male infant)
• Soft, flexible ear cartilage
• Thin, smooth, shiny skin, which is often transparent (can see veins under skin)

Not all premature babies will have these characteristics.

Signs and tests:

The infant may have difficulty breathing and maintaining body temperature.

Common tests performed on a premature infant include:

• Blood gas analysis
• Blood tests to check glucose, calcium, and bilirubin levels
• Chest x-ray
• Continuous cardiorespiratory monitoring (monitoring of breathing and heart rate)