Glossary

Reprinted with permission from "Your Premature Baby and Child" by Amy E. Tracy and Dianne I. Maroney (Berkley, 1999)

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Toy block

Occupational therapist

 A healthcare professional who specializes in helping a child with the developmental tasks requiring the use of the arms, hands, mouth, and tongue

Ophthalmologist

 A medical doctor who treats the eyes

Oral-motor development

 The development of the muscles in the mouth used for speech and eating

Overstimulation

 When a child with an immature nervous system becomes stressed (looking away, hyperalert expression, crying) because of too much activity for his brain to process

Oxygen

 A colorless, odorless gas that is essential for life. Increased oxygen can aid a baby who has difficulty breathing; room air is 21 percent oxygen

Oxygen saturation

 The amount of oxygen the blood is carrying

Oxygen therapy

 Any method of delivering supplemental oxygen to a baby

 

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