When a baby is born prematurely, the retina is only partially formed. The blood vessels have grown into the retina at the very back of the eye but not into the rest of the retina. The amount of undeveloped retina is proportional to the severity of prematurity. The closer that a premature baby is to full term, the more normally developed is the retina. The greater the prematurity, the greater is the amount of undevelopedretina.
Download Parent’s Guide to Their Premature Baby’s Eyes
Courtesy of ROPARD.org and IRIDEX