Your premature baby More than 21,000 premature babies are born
in Australia every year and more than 6,000 will require
critical life support and medical intervention. Being born
prematurely can be detrimental to a babies' mental and physical
development. What is premature birth? A full-term pregnancy is
between 37 and 42 weeks, so a baby born prior to 37 weeks is
considered premature or pre-term. In Australia, about 8.5
percent of babies are born prematurely, mostly between 32 and 37
weeks. What are the survival odds of a premature baby? The
closer your baby is to full-term, the better the survival odds.
With each extra week spent in your womb, your baby's chances of
survival are increased. A baby born at 24 weeks has a 58 percent
chance of living, but this rises to 98 percent or more by the
time the she reaches 28 - 30 weeks. How much do premature babies
weigh? A premature baby can weigh as little as 500 to 2500
grams. Full-term babies usually weigh more than 2500 grams
(about five pounds eight ounces). Typ