BACKGROUND A large proportion of the rise in prematurity worldwide is owing to late preterm births, which may be due to the expansion of obstetric interventions, especially pre-labour caesarean section. Late preterm births pose similar risks to overall prematurity, making this trend a concern. In this study, we describe factors associated with provider-initiated late preterm birth and verify di...

Neonatologists generally recognize that late preterm infants face more problems in the immediate newborn period compared with their full-term counterparts. [1,2]. This excess morbidity extends beyond the initial birth hospitalization [3] and the literature recognizes that readmission rates of late preterm infants are 1.5 to 3 times that of term infants [4-7]. In this group of infants, the overw...

AIM Preterm infants display aberrant gut microbial colonisation. We investigated whether the differences in gut microbiota between late preterm and full-term infants results from prematurity or external exposures. METHODS This study comprised 43 late preterm infants (340/7 -366/7 ) and 75 full-term infants based on faecal samples collected following birth and at two to four weeks and six mont...

To detect differences between late preterm and term infants in the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) variables that predispose to neurodevelopmental abnormalities, 36 late preterm infants and 87 term infants were recruited. Data collected with the click level at 70 dB nHL were used for analysis. The latencies of waves I (2.74±0.20 msec vs. 2.74±0.42 msec), III (5.55±0.33 msec vs. 5.53±0...

Iron is essential for the Central Nervous System development, i.e. mielinization process and cellular differentiation as well as correct functioning of neurotransmitters [1]. Preterm infants show an increased risk of iron deficiency (ID) since 80% of the iron storage at birth is accumulated during the third trimester of pregnancy. Rapid child growth and elevated red cell turn over in the neonat...

AIM The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that singleton late preterm infants (34 0/7 to 36 6/7 weeks of gestation) compared with full-term infants have a higher incidence of short-term morbidity and stay longer in hospital. METHODS In this retrospective, multicentre study, electronic data of children born at five hospitals in Switzerland were recorded. Short-term outcome of late p...

OBJECTIVE To compare mortality and the principal intercurrent clinical conditions suffered by late-preterm newborn infants born with gestational ages of 34 full weeks to 36 weeks and 6 days, and full term newborns. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study of all preterm newborn infants born at a public hospital from August 2010 to August 2011. The study sample comprised late-preterm infants (...

INTRODUCTION Late preterm infants (34-36 weeks gestation) have a morbidity rate significantly higher than those born at term. However, few interventions have been undertaken to reduce this increased morbidity and mortality. Antenatal corticosteroid administration could be an effective preventive measure. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to describe the morbidity associated with late premat...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of gestational age in determining the risk of neonatal morbidity among infants born late preterm (34-36 weeks) and early term (37-38 weeks) compared with those born full term (39-41 weeks) by examining the contribution of gestational age within the context of biological determinants of preterm birth. METHODS This was a retrospective c...