Help for kids

If a child is in a great hurry to see the world and is born before the 28th week, he or she has to make great efforts to breathe. His lungs are immature, "unopened". Such babies are nursed in the intensive care unit using a ventilator until the child begins to cope with this task on his own. This can happen either on the 4th-7th day of life or in 1-2 months. Also, all this time, due to the lack of thermoregulation, the child must be in a special incubator. 

Oxygen is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, oxygen protects all cells of an immature organism from the pathological effects of hypoxia, promotes the full growth and development of brain cells, heart, kidneys and other organs. On the other hand, if oxygen enters the child's body in excessive amounts, it can provoke an "oxygen explosion" with the formation of a large number of toxic substances that damage and kill cells, causing the development of severe damage to the central nervous, respiratory and immune systems. Oxygen is not heated, but not moistened, has a lethal effect on lung tissue cells, reduces the production of a vital substance - surfactant, disrupts vascular tone and changes the blood supply to lung tissue.

This provokes the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, which means that children remain dependent on oxygen for several months and have to stay in hospitals for a long time. In addition, in excessive amounts, a high concentration of oxygen in the mixture that the child breathes leads to damage to the retinal vessels with subsequent partial or complete blindness. Heating, humidification and precise control over the oxygen concentration prevent the development of such serious complications in premature babies, improve their development and quality of life.

The Deeply Premature Infants Department of the National Children's Specialized Hospital Ohmatdyt of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, which specializes in providing care to premature infants with extremely low birth weight, has an immediate need to replace the humidification chamber complexes in the incubators. With properly functioning medical equipment, doctors will be able to prevent the development of severe consequences of uncontrolled oxygen therapy in infants and provide quality medical care.