Researchers in this study followed 825 premature babies born between 24 and 37 weeks of pregnancy who had respiratory distress syndrome, a common breathing problem in preemies. They tracked how much oxygen each baby received during their first week of life, including duration, concentration, and how often oxygen levels dipped dangerously low.
The study appeared in Frontiers in Pediatrics and investigated whether the oxygen therapy given to struggling newborns actually damages their eyes.
Prematurity, not oxygen, drives eye problems
About 13% of babies developed retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)—a condition where abnormal blood vessels grow in the eye and can lead to vision loss or blindness if severe. The risk increased dramatically with how premature babies were: among the tiniest babies (born before 28 weeks), nearly 60% developed some form of ROP.
Babies with severe ROP did receive more oxygen and experienced more oxygen fluctuations. However, when researchers adjusted for how premature each baby was and their birth weight, these oxygen measurements no longer predicted ROP severity. This is the key finding: extreme prematurity itself is the primary risk factor, not the oxygen therapy.
Your NICU team is managing oxygen safely
This research is reassuring for Singapore families. Our hospitals are skilled at managing oxygen in premature babies, and this study confirms that careful monitoring—sometimes deliberately keeping oxygen levels lower to avoid excess—is the right approach. Doctors aren't causing ROP through their oxygen management; the therapy is necessary to keep babies alive.
If your baby is in the NICU, you may notice staff frequently checking oxygen levels and adjusting them. This study validates that practice. For parents of extremely premature babies (under 28 weeks), eye screening is standard care in Singapore, and early detection means early treatment.
What you can do
- Trust your medical team's oxygen management decisions—careful monitoring protects rather than harms your baby's eyes.
- Ensure your extremely premature baby receives routine ROP screening as part of standard neonatal follow-up care.