ROP affects the back of the eye called the retina. The retina is the part of the eye that collects all of the light information from what we look at and sends this information through the optic nerve to the brain where the light information is processed as images. ROP occurs when blood vessels in the eye that have not finished growing before a baby is born begin to grow abnormally and in the wrong direction. Most ROP will resolve on its own without any damage to the retina or vision loss.
In severe cases, ROP can worsen, and abnormal blood vessels can form that may leak and even cause the layers of the retina to separate. Scar tissue can form and damage the retina by pulling the retina away from the back of the eye (retinal detachment) leading to vision loss or blindness. For babies with ROP, it is difficult to know which cases will resolve or worsen.
Eye examinations conducted while the baby is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), completion of examinations with specialists after the child leaves the NICU, and following treatment recommendations are important ways to prevent vision loss for babies at risk from ROP and other vision issues which may appear later in childhood or adolescence.
ROP Resources at Prevent Blindness
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How Common is ROP?
Among babies who are born prematurely in the United States, about 14,000 children will be diagnosed with ROP each year.
About 1,300 children experience vision loss.
400-600 children have severe visual impairment or blindness because of ROP each year.
Because black and Hispanic babies are born early more often than white babies, they have higher rates of ROP.
Almost 90% of babies with ROP will experience “regression” of the disease, meaning it improves on its own without treatment.
What causes ROP?
ROP happens more often in babies born early or small because the blood vessels of the retina begin to grow around 16 weeks into the pregnancy, and do not completely form until 36 and 40 weeks of pregnancy. Blood vessels in the eye that haven’t finished growing before a baby is born might begin to grow abnormally and in the wrong direction once they are born – causing ROP. Being born early also requires more medical support, such as extra oxygen, which can also cause the blood vessels to grow abnormally fast.
What are the risk factors for ROP?
The earlier and smaller a baby is born, the more likely their chance of developing ROP that may need treatment. Other risk factors that may increase a newborn’s likelihood of having severe ROP include:
- Breathing problems at birth that require prolonged and high amounts of oxygen
- Changing oxygen levels in the NICU (high to low and vice versa)
- Poor growth or weight gain after birth
- Being a multiple at birth (twins, triplets, etc.)
- Infections in the baby’s mother around the time of delivery
- Infections in the baby after birth
- Bleeding in the brain
- High blood sugar in the baby
- Low blood count or anemia requiring blood transfusions
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