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After your baby leaves the hospital, he or she will likely need follow-up care. It is important to follow your child’s treatment plan and get regular care. It is also important to take care of your mental health as you care for your baby at home.

Treatment in the NICU is designed to limit stress on newborns and meet their basic needs of warmth, nutrition, and protection. Treatment of BPD usually includes breathing support with a nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) machine or a ventilator, other supportive treatments, and other procedures and treatments.

Newborns who are born early—usually more than 10 weeks before their due dates—and still need oxygen therapy by the time they reach their original due dates are diagnosed with BPD.

Many babies who develop BPD are born with serious respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). A first sign of BPD is when premature newborns—usually those born more than 10 weeks early—still need oxygen therapy by the time they reach 36 weeks gestation.

Taking steps to ensure a healthy pregnancy might prevent your newborn from being born before his or her lungs have fully developed.

The more premature a newborn is and the lower his or her birth weight, the greater the risk of BPD. Most newborns who develop BPD are born more than 10 weeks before their due dates, weigh less than 2 pounds at birth, and have breathing problems. Infections that occur before or shortly after birth also can contribute to BPD.

BPD is a type of neonatal respiratory disease that develops as a result of a newborn's lungs not developing normally while the baby is growing in the womb or not developing fully if the baby was born premature. These babies’ lungs are fragile and can be easily irritated or inflamed after birth. Ventilation, high levels of oxygen, or infections can also damage premature newborns' lungs.