Infant Incubator; Used to Maintain Environmental Conditions Suitable For a Neonate

 

Infant incubator is a medical device in which an infant (pre-matured infants) can be kept in a controlled environment for observation and care. It is used to provide a controlled environment with the essential levels of oxygen, humidity, and warmth required by a newborn. The infant incubator is a small box-like structure consisting of a small bed and an attached trolley. These medical devices are usually made of glass, except that the top is covered by rigid plastic. These boxes protect newborns from noise, dust, infection, and provide them a clean environment.

Thus, with the increasing number of premature infants worldwide, the demand for the infant incubator is also increasing rapidly. Preterm is defined as babies born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed. According to Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, a German-language medical magazine, in Germany, around 0.6% of all infants are born earlier than 28 weeks’ gestation. These premature infants have a high-risk population, but their survival chances are greatly improved by the arrival of the infant incubator. Today, approximately 80% of these children survive compared to the survival rate of 30% in the late 1970s.

An infant incubator, also called an infant intensive care unit, is a highly specialized intensive care facility used for the treatment of premature or sick newborn babies. The term neonatal refers to the early months of life from conception to full birth. These are often called child-care centers. These facilities are very useful for expectant parents, because they offer help and assistance in the initial weeks following delivery and throughout the first year of baby's life. Such units have proven extremely useful to premature infants whose health has not been considered acceptable in the past.

Moreover, infant incubator can be extremely useful to ill infants whose conditions have been potentially threatening or potentially life-threatening but who remain healthy enough to receive medical care. The standard incubators come with temperature controls, temperature gauges, ventilators, and oxygen concentrators, and they are often made from the highest quality of materials available. These incubators are extremely useful in the care of premature babies who may not be able to survive in their mother's womb.