Sunday, March 30, 2008

Premature babies don't grow out of their problems

Interesting, even with the statistics.
clipped from www.theage.com.au

INFANTS born prematurely are much more likely to die during childhood and, if they survive, much less likely to have children of their own in adulthood, according to the largest study of
prematurity ever undertaken.

Researchers already knew that premature infants faced many neurological and developmental problems, but the new findings, released yesterday, indicate that the spectrum of problems is even broader than suspected and persist throughout the child's life.

The study, conducted using Norwegian birth data, suggests that, as the percentage of premature infants who make it through their first year continues to grow because of advances in neonatology, the number of troubled infants and adults will also rise.

"Are we improving their survival at the expense of significant problems down the road?" asked the lead author, Dr Geeta Swamy, of the Duke University Medical Centre.

One in eight US infants are born prematurely - defined as 37 weeks or less.

blog it

No comments: