The range of thermal control and the thermoneutral range of preterm infants under 30 weeks' gestation was calculated by extrapolation of data from studies on more mature infants. Even assuming some thermoregulatory capacity, the range of control is less than 3 degrees C, the thermoneutral range is less than 0.5 degrees C, and both are greatly influenced by the rate of transepidermal water loss....

CONTEXT Teenagers are more likely than older women to have a low-birth-weight infant or a preterm birth, and the risks may be particularly high when they have a second birth. Identifying predictors of these outcomes in second teenage births is essential for developing preventive strategies. METHODS Birth certificate data for 1993-2002 were linked to identify second births to Milwaukee teenage...

There are well-established morbidities associated with preterm birth including respiratory, neurocognitive and developmental disorders. However several others have recently emerged that characterise an 'aged' phenotype in the preterm infant by term-equivalent age. These include hypertension, insulin resistance and altered body fat distribution. Evidence shows that these morbidities persist into...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the ability of a postnatal weight-gain algorithm (WINROP) to identify sight-threatening retinopathy of prematurity (ROP type 1) in a nation-based extremely preterm infant cohort. METHODS This study enrolled all 707 live-born extremely preterm (gestational age [GA] <27 weeks) infants, born 2004-2007 in Sweden; the Extremely preterm Infants in Sweden Study (EXPRESS). WINRO...

Preterm infants have higher nutrient requirements than term infants. Enteral tube feeding is the preferred route to feed preterm infants because premature infants are unable to coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing. There are two common tube feeding methods: intermittent (bolus) or continuous infusion. Minimal enteral nutrition or trophic feeding has many advantages for preterms and sho...

Several studies have suggested an association between maternal periodontal disease and preterm delivery, but this has not been a consistent finding. In 2006-2007, the authors examined the relation between maternal periodontal disease and preterm delivery among 467 pregnant Thai women who delivered a preterm singleton infant (<37 weeks' gestation) and 467 controls who delivered a singleton infan...

In this issue of Pediatrics, Fyfe et al present convincing evidence that cerebral tissue oxygenation index (TOI) is lower in habitually supinesleeping preterm infants placed prone rather than supine, and that the cerebral TOI for preterm infants placed prone is lower than the TOI for term infants placed prone. Increased rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) among all infants sleeping pro...

background: microorganisms that cause early neonatal sepsis are usually already colonized rectovaginal area in mothers. the most common of these organisms is group b streptococci (gbs) and intestinal gram-negative bacteria mostly escherichia coli (e.coli). the use of prophylactic antibiotics against gbs has increased in recent years. this study aimed to determine the current situation and frequ...