A Canada-wide study led by the University of Calgary has found caffeine given intravenously can lead to fewer health problems later in life for premature babies.
Researchers found that extremely premature babies who received caffeine within the first two days of birth spent less time on mechanical ventilators and had a lower risk of chronic lung-related illnesses as they grew older.
Researchers found the caffeine had no serious side effects.
Lodha said caffeine works by stimulating the respiratory centre in the brain and improving breathing. It also increases the ability of the baby’s diaphragm to contract.
In the past, concerns about giving caffeine to premature babies too early meant it was often not administered until the third day after birth, by which time breathing problems had already appeared.
The study looked at more than 5,000 babies who were born before 31 weeks at 29 neonatal intensive care units across Canada. The normal gestation period for babies is 40 weeks.
The findings were published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.
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