Research Shows Caffeine Helps Premature Infants

A recent international study on premature babies shows that caffeine, which is the standard treatment for breathing problems in premature babies, really is beneficial.

The findings are published in the November issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The Effects of Caffeine

Caffeine has reportedly been widely used to help premature babies breathe better; however, until this latest research, nobody knew whether or not the benefits of the drugs would outweigh the risks.

“It definitely gives hope to parents,” says Barbara Schmidt, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “Of all the drugs we use in the neonatal intensive care unit, caffeine is the first to have been shown conclusively to reduce long-term disability in preterm babies.”

International Study

The international study that was conducted analyzed 2,000 premature babies with low birth weights ranging from 1.1 to 2.75 pounds.

Half of the babies studied received caffeine as part of their treatment and the other half received an inactive placebo.

46% of the babies who were placebo-treated either died or suffered from developmental problems such as cerebral palsy.

40% of those who were given the caffeine had the same results, which means that caffeine cut the rate of cerebral palsy from 7.3% to 4.4%.

(Source: WebMD)

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