A FISIOTERAPIA NO ACOMPANHAMENTO PRECOCE EM BEBÊS PREMATUROS

They are regarded as preterm infants who were born before 37 weeks gestational age; they are classified as: extremely preterm (<28 weeks), very preterm (28 to <32 weeks) and moderate preterm (32 to < 37 weeks). The disorders that preterm newborn babies may present are characterized by reduced muscle strength, reduced fatty tissue, difficult body temperature maintenance, digestive and urinary function failures, higher capillary fragility and absence or abnormality of some reflexes. Besides, they may present complications such as: intra and periventricular hemorrhages, respiratory and heart illnesses, infections, metabolic and blood disorders, birth asphyxia and hypoglycemia. The present paper is an integrative paper following the strict, clear and reapplication standards from primary papers. Data collection was accomplished through LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature) database; 856 papers were found, from which only 07 were selected. This paper aims to highlight the benefits of early physiotherapy for preterm babies after receiving hospital discharge and update, in clinical practice, academic students and physiotherapists. The conclusion is that early physiotherapy promotes benefits for infant’s evolutionary process and it brings corrected and chronological age closer, mainly when they begin in the first few months of life. This paper shows that physiotherapeutic approach must cover infant’s global basis and routine, since family-infant interaction reaches favorable and necessary consequences to motor and social development. It is worth highlighting that multidisciplinary treatment is very important to baby’s life, since each difficulty in a particular way, developing strategies for prevention, orientation and treatment, in order to minimize the effects caused by prematurity. Key-words: Early physiotherapy. Preterm newborn. Early stimulation.