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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Premature birth is the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States; but for babies who do survive, health implications may last further into adulthood than previously thought.
Researchers at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway, studied more than a million men and women born prematurely, between 22 and 37 weeks after gestation. According to the Mayo Clinic, most pregnancies last 38 to 42 weeks; preterm births are defined as births earlier than 37 weeks.
The study identified several long-term quality of health issues for people born premature, including lower educational success, lower reproduction rates and an increased chance of their babies being born premature and with complications. The study also found boys born between 22 and 27 weeks had the highest rate of early childhood death.
When a baby is born preterm, we tend to focus on the short-term risk of complications, Geeta Swamy, M.D., lead author and a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Duke University, was quoted as saying. While it is true that the risk of complications is highest in the immediate time period, including hospitalization and the first year of life, that risk continues into adolescence. And the earlier youre born, the higher the risk.
In addition, she says the study brings to light an important issue concerning advances in prenatal and neonatal care. Preterm survival is improving now because of interventions we have in pregnancy and neonatal care. However, it may be that were improving survival while adversely affecting the overall health and quality of life in the long run, Dr. Swamy explained.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, published online March 25, 2008
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