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Premature babies

from Medical topics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2014

By
Heather Mohay
Edited by
Susan Ayers ,
Andrew Baum ,
Chris McManus ,
Stanton Newman ,
Kenneth Wallston ,
John Weinman  and
Robert West
Heather Mohay
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology
Susan Ayers
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Andrew Baum
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Chris McManus
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Stanton Newman
Affiliation:
University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
Kenneth Wallston
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
John Weinman
Affiliation:
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's
Robert West
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London
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Summary

Definition of prematurity

The World Health Organization (1993) classifies infants on the basis of gestational age with those born at <37 weeks gestation classed as preterm, those born at <32 weeks as very preterm and those at <28 weeks as extremely preterm. Birthweight is also frequently used to classify infants. Those with birthweights of <2500 g are classed as low birthweight (LBW), those <1500 g as very low birthweight (VLBW) and those <1000 g as extremely low birthweight (ELBW). The latter are generally born at <28 weeks gestation and have the highest mortality and morbidity rates (Draper et al., 1999). Lubchenco (1976) argued that both birthweight and gestational age need to be considered when classifying infants. She classified infants with a birthweight <10th percentile for their gestational age, i.e. those exhibiting intrauterine growth retardation, as small for gestational age (SGA). These infants may be born at term or earlier in pregnancy and as they require somewhat different medical management and are at greater risk for perinatal death or adverse developmental outcomes than appropriately grown infants of the same gestational age (Lubchenco, 1976) it is important for them to be accurately identified.

Preterm birth occurs in approximately 7% of confinements with infants with birthweights of <1000 g accounting for less than 1% of all deliveries (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare National Perinatal Statistics Unit, 2003).

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 827 - 830
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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