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- What is RSV?
- Reducing your baby's risk of RSV infection
- Infections and your baby
- Journey of the Premature Baby
- Congenital Heart Disease
- Is your baby of Inuit background?
- Did you know?
Your Baby’s Appearance
ELBW and VLBW babies can be very fragile. Since their skin is not fully developed, you may see blood vessels through their skin. This gives premature babies a reddish purple skin colour. Their skin may feel “sticky” and can bruise and tear easily. Most very premature babies also have very soft hair called “lanugo”, which may cover most of the body. It disappears as the baby grows.
Your tiny baby’s head may look unusually large for the size of the body and her or his arms and legs may look quite long. Very premature babies have very little fat covering their bones. As your baby grows and develops more fat, their head, arms, and legs should begin to look more “normal” for her or his size.
It is not unusual for a very premature baby’s (ELBW) eyelids to be stuck shut at the time of birth. In time, they will open. The ears may also be still developing. They may be close to the head and have little of the material called cartilage that gives them their final shape. If the ears are folded or bent, they may stay in a folded position for a while. Don’t worry. With time, the ears will develop cartilage that will make them spring back into place when touched.
A very premature boy has a tiny penis and his testicles have not yet moved down into the scrotum. A premature baby girl’s clitoris protrudes because the labia (skin around the clitoris and vagina) are not fully developed.