With the advancement of medical treatment, premature babies are becoming more and more common. Parents of premature babies must be aware that they should bring their premature babies to the ophthalmology department for fundus check before full term. Why is it important to check the fundus of preterm babies? Premature infants are born with immature fundus (retina) vessels, which are prone to abnormal retinal vessel development, hemorrhage, retinal detachment and eventual blindness after birth due to various factors. This means that premature infants are prone to retinopathy of prematurity (incidence about 10%), which is one of the main causes of childhood blindness. If detected early and treated promptly, affected children can maintain good vision. Once the treatment window is missed, retinal detachment occurs. Even with surgery, the results are poor and the child is likely to be completely blind. Which premature babies need fundus check? The guidelines for the prevention and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity in China state that preterm infants with a birth weight of ≤ 2000g or a gestational age of ≤ 32 weeks should undergo fundus screening. The weaker the preterm baby, the more likely he or she is to develop retinopathy of prematurity. When should I get screened? Premature babies need to be screened 3-4 weeks after birth because some of them have already developed more serious retinopathy of prematurity that requires treatment 3-4 weeks after birth, and if they are late, they are likely to miss the treatment. Some parents do not go to the hospital for screening because their children are weak or because they think they are still too young because they are not full term. Missing the best time for treatment can leave lifelong regrets. How to check the fundus of preterm babies? Fundus screening for preterm infants requires an experienced fundus practitioner to perform an examination under an indirect inspection lens in combination with scleral compression. Some children require further pediatric color fundus photography. One hour before the examination, you need to order dilating eye drops and do not drink milk one hour before the examination to avoid crying and choking during the examination.