To compare healthy late-preterm infants with their full-term counterparts from age 4 through 15 years for numerous standard cognitive, achievement, socioemotional, and behavioral outcomes. Prospective cohort study. National Institute of Child Health and Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, 1991-2007. A total of 1298 children (53 born ...

We review comparative studies of infant habituation and dishabituation performance focusing on preterm infants. Habituation refers to cognitive encoding, and dishabituation refers to discrimination and memory. If habituation and dishabituation constitute basic information-processing skills, and preterm infants suffer cognitive disadvantages, then preterms should show diminished habituation and dishabituation performance. Our ...

Although survival rates for preterm infants have greatly improved over the last three to four decades, these infants remain at risk of developing a broad range of short-term and long-term complications. Despite the large body of work on the clinical sequelae of preterm birth, relatively little is known about its ...

To assess the impact of obesity on preterm birth among nulliparous women. Retrospective cohort study of nulliparous mothers delivering infants in Florida between 2004 and 2007. Women were classified as non-obese (pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) <30) or obese (BMI ≥ 30). The main outcomes assessed were preterm birth, very ...

BACKGROUND: Suprapubic aspiration (SPA) and urine catheterization (UC) are performed frequently in preterm neonates to rule out urinary tract infection; however, a comparison of the pain caused by both procedures has not been made previously. OBJECTIVE: To compare pain responses in preterm infants who are undergoing urine collection by using ...

It is unclear if very immature preterm infants who are born small for gestational age (SGA) have similar leukocyte counts as infants who are born appropriate for gestational age (AGA). Our study included 49 preterm infants with a gestational age ≤32 weeks and without exposure to chorioamnionitis and funisitis. Blood ...

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) remains a significant cause of death in newborns. With advances in neonatal critical care and ventilation strategies, survival in the term infant now exceeds 80% in some centers. Although prematurity is a significant risk factor for morbidity and mortality in most neonatal diseases, its associated risk ...

Our aim was to characterize an ovine model of preterm birth that allows analysis of the developmental effects of preterm birth in the absence of postnatal confounding factors. Preterm birth was induced at 131 days of gestation in 82 lambs; controls (n = 31) were born at term (145 days). ...

To evaluate and compare cardiovascular adaptation of 36 preterm and 34 fullterm newborns, we analyzed BNP concentration and echocardiographic parameters at day 3 of life and at day 28 (+/-2). On day 3 BNP concentrations (pg/ml) resulted higher in PDA preterm group (n=11; 125, IQR 56.1-301) than preterm without PDA ...

Epidemiologic studies of potential behavioral influences on preterm birth have proliferated and yet, with the exception of tobacco smoking, none can be considered an established cause. We conducted a comprehensive summary of the epidemiologic evidence on tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use, and physical, sexual, and occupational activity, to identify ...

Following a long period of fairly steady increase, the U.S. preterm birth rate declined for the second straight year in 2008 to 12.3 percent, from 12.8 percent in 2006. This marks the first 2-year decline in the preterm birth rate in nearly three decades. Preterm birth rates declined from 2006 ...

Women who have delivered an infant between 16 and 36 weeks' gestation have an increased risk of preterm birth in subsequent pregnancies. The risk increases with more than 1 preterm birth and is inversely proportional to the gestational age of the previous preterm birth. African American women have rates of ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of activity bursts in the early preterm EEG, to assess inter-rater agreement of burst detection by visual inspection, and to determine the performance of an automated burst detector that uses non-linear energy operator (NLEO). METHODS: EEG recordings from extremely preterm (n=12) and very preterm (n=6) ...

The aetiology of preterm birth remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study is to investigate if an association exists between prenatal alcohol consumption and preterm birth and to determine if such an association differs by subcategories of preterm birth. We employed vital statistics data from the state of Missouri ...

Since most of in utero bone mass accretion occurs during the third trimester and postnatal need for bone nutrients is increased, preterm infants have an increased risk of low bone mass. Early identification of the risk is of crucial importance. Quantitative ultrasound, which is a relatively inexpensive, portable, noninvasive, and ...

BACKGROUND: Preterm birth causes infant morbidity and mortality. A single course of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) should be considered routine for preterm delivery. Benefits of therapy before 34 weeks' gestation have been established for infants born between 24 h and 7 days after treatment. It is still unclear whether multiple courses ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between maternal serum magnesium levels and preterm birth. This Nested case-control study carried out on 20 with preterm birth and 20 women at term birth at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Sari/Iran in 2008. The women with singleton gestation and intact ...

OBJECTIVES: Preterm birth contributes to a range of healthcare problems amongst infants surmounting to sizeable healthcare costs. Twin pregnancies are at particular risk of preterm birth. The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of vaginal progesterone gel for the prevention of preterm birth in twin pregnancies. METHODS: ...

OBJECTIVE: Vaginal douching and bacterial vaginosis (BV) are independently associated with spontaneous preterm birth. Because the interrelationships among these variables remain unclear, we sought to examine the associations in a prospective study. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study within a prospectively recruited cohort of pregnant women. We prospectively collected ...

The incidence of preterm delivery and the survival rate of preterm newborns are rising, due to the increased use of assisted reproductive technology associated with multiple gestations and improved technology in obstetrics and neonatology, which allow saving preterm infants at earlier gestational ages. As a consequence, the risk of developmental ...

Many intervention studies in preterm infants aim to improve neurodevelopmental outcome, but short-term proxy outcome measurements are lacking. Cortical plate and subplate development could be such a marker. Our aim was to provide normal DTI reference values for the cortical plate and subplate of preterm infants. As part of an ...

BACKGROUND: Approximately 75% of preterm births are late-preterm (34(0/7) to 36(6/7) weeks gestation). This group has usually been considered as a whole in studies assessing the outcome of these preterm infants by comparison with term infants. However, the respective contribution to prognosis of each week of gestation has not been ...

We reviewed videos of 61 extremely preterm infants taken immediately after birth. The majority cried (69%) and breathed (80%) without intervention. Most preterm infants are not apneic at birth.

Preterm delivery is the primary cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Labour at term occurs as a culmination of maturational events in both the fetus and maternal uterus. This process exhibits diurnal variation, with the onset of labour being more common at night. We have confirmed that this diurnal ...

Ureaplasma spp. are the most frequently isolated microorganisms inside the amniotic cavity and have been associated with spontaneous abortion, chorioamnionitis, premature rupture of the membranes (PROM), and preterm labor (PL). We analyzed 118 samples from amniotic fluid of preterm infants before 34 weeks of gestation by quantitative polymerase chain reaction ...

In the fetus, the predominant energy supply is glucose transported across the placenta from the mother. As pregnancy progresses, the amount of glucose transported increases, with glycogen and fat stores being laid down, principally in the third trimester. In the well-term baby, there is hormonal and metabolic adaptation in the ...

BACKGROUND: Despite previous studies addressing the link between preterm or low birth weight infants and maternal periodontitis, extreme preterm births have received far less attention. This study is designed to address the possible association between maternal periodontal disease and preterm or extreme preterm birth. METHODS: Immediately after childbirth, 1,207 women ...

Caffeine improves the rate of survival without neurodevelopmental disability in preterm infants. The mechanisms underlying neuroprotection are incompletely understood. In 51 preterm infants studied by amplitude-integrated electroencephalography from 2 hours before to 2 hours after intravenous caffeine administration, we found that caffeine increases amplitudes and periods of continuity.

The preterm birth rate exceeds 12% in the United States, and preterm birth continues to be a clinical and public health challenge globally. Even though preterm birth is a major contributor to infant mortality and lifelong morbidity, there are few effective strategies to predict preterm birth and few clinical interventions ...

BACKGROUND: Maternal cervical incompetence in pregnancy (CIP) showed an association with a higher rate of preterm births. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of CIP in Hungarian pregnant women, to determine the rate of preterm birth, and to check the preventive efficacy of preterm births due ...

Studies of the association of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and preterm birth have been inconclusive, and no studies have examined the effect of central adiposity on risk. There is also uncertainty about optimal gestational weight gain among Black women. Using self-reported prospective data from the Black Women's Health Study, ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and to identify risk factors for live singleton preterm birth in Omdurman Maternity hospital, Sudan. METHODS: Case-control study. Odds ratios were adjusted for the confounding factors using multiple logistic regression models. RESULTS: Among 3240 live birth at maternity hospital during the 3 months period of ...

Glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid for very low-birth weight infants by virtue of its ability to play an important role in several key metabolic processes of immune cells and enterocytes. Although glutamine is known to be used to a great extent, the exact splanchnic metabolism in enterally fed ...

AIM: To investigate cerebral white matter (WM) abnormalities (J Pediatr 2003; 143: 171) and diffuse and excessive high signal intensities (DEHSI), (J Pediatr 1999; 135: 351) in a cohort of extremely preterm infants born in Stockholm during a 3-year period, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). ...

The increased survival of very preterm infants is generally attributed to improved care strategies. This review develops the thesis that the features of abnormal pregnancies responsible for very preterm deliveries also provide an explanation of why very preterm infants often survive. A normal fetus born at 24 weeks is very ...

The mother's voice, along with other developmentally appropriate sensory events (ie, touch, light, smells), stimulates maturation of the sensory systems and helps shape normal fetal development. While vast changes in the neonatal intensive care unit have occurred over the last 2 decades, little research has addressed the loss of exposure ...

BACKGROUND: Although much is known about the risk factors for postpartum depression (PPD), the role of giving birth to a preterm or low-birth-weight infant has not been reviewed systematically. OBJECTIVE: To review systematically the prevalence and risk factors for PPD among women with preterm infants. SEARCH STRATEGY: Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, ...

Sudden unexpected death is one of the most frequent ways of dying in the first year of life after the neonatal period. It is however, much less frequent after the first birthday. Investigations into the cause of death are very important, for a significant proportion of these sudden deaths can ...

BACKGROUND: The antigen-specific T cell responses of preterm infants to immunization are not well understood. The aim of the present study was to compare the T cell responses of preterm infants after inactivated poliovirus vaccination with those of term infants. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 2-month-old preterm (gestational age, 33 weeks) ...

Our aim was to investigate whether a genetic variation in the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 2 gene might be associated with preterm birth. In this case-control study we evaluated the G/A polymorphism (rs2267717) in intron 2 of the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 2 gene in one hundred women with preterm birth and ...

Abnormal vaginal flora as well as bacterial vaginosis have a significant relative risk for miscarriage or preterm birth of 1.4-6.9. In the initial Erfurt trial, 0.3% of the neonates with gestational age <32+0 weeks were seen in an intervention group vs. 3.3% (p < 0.01) in the control group; in ...

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous preterm deliveries that occur before the 34th week of gestation, and particularly before the 32nd week of gestation, have been strongly associated to intrauterine infection, ascending from vagina, and represent the largest portion of neonatal deaths and neurological problems. Bacterial vaginosis, characterized by a diminished or absent flora ...

BACKGROUND: Fecal calprotectin has been proposed as a non-invasive marker of intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease in adults and children. Fecal calprotectin levels have been reported to be much higher in both healthy full-term and preterm infants than in children and adults. OBJECTIVE: To determine the time course of ...

BACKGROUND: Evidence for protection of preterm born infants from invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) by 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV7) is relatively sparse. Data from randomized trials is based on relatively small numbers of preterm born children. METHODS: We report data from active prospective surveillance of IPD in children in Germany. ...

The use of amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) is increasing during the neonatal intensive care of preterm infants. This prospective study was designed to assess factors that affect the maturation of aEEG activity in preterm infants with a gestational age (GA) of <32 weeks. aEEGs with cerebral function monitoring were performed weekly ...

Very preterm infants are particularly susceptible to nutrient deficiencies. Although a lot of attention has been focused on the early nutrient supply, they are at high risk of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency. To estimate docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake, the metabolizable (i.e. absorbed) DHA, the DHA available for accretion and ...

Prematurity is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and a global health problem that affects high, middle and low-income countries. Several factors may increase the risk of preterm birth. In this article, we test the hypothesis that different risk factors determine preterm birth in different income groups by investigating whether ...

PURPOSE: Incorrect dosage was the most common type of medication errors in neonate patients. Different dosing recommendations from common reference sources may have contributed to the errors. This study assesses the compliance rate with the common reference sources in antibiotic dosage prescribed for preterm infants in a neonatal intensive care ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the survival rates and neurosensory outcomes of infants born at gestational age 22-27 weeks in the state of Victoria in 2005 and compare theses data with those for similar infants born in the 1990s. STUDY DESIGN: This was a population-based study of all extremely preterm (22-27 weeks' ...

Physicians are working to reduce preterm birth and its devastating consequences. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists calls the prevention of preterm births, including late preterm deliveries, a public health priority. TMA's House of Delegates adopted a recommendation in 2009 to support the prevention of iatrogenic prematurity (caused by ...