Bleak Outlook for Preemies
Reported January 6, 2005
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The prognosis for very premature babies is not good. A new study shows most infants born before 26 weeks gestation have moderate or severe mental impairment.
Prematurity is a common and serious problem. The number of preterm births is rising each year, according to the March of Dimes. Babies born prematurely often suffer life-long consequences including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, blindness, and hearing loss.
A new British study is the largest to date on babies born at 25 weeks gestation or earlier. The children in the study were evaluated at 30 months as well as age 6. The premature babies’ cognitive abilities were compared to other children not born prematurely.
The study shows 41 percent of the extremely premature group have severe or moderate mental impairment at 6 years of age compared to 2 percent of their classmates who were born full term.
Researchers say 12 percent of the premature children suffered cerebral palsy. The research also shows only 20 percent of children born extremely premature have no neuromotor or mental disability. This means 80 percent of children born premature suffer some disability later in life.
“More research on the underlying causes of preterm birth is needed if we are to reverse this trend,” says Scott D. Berns, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, vice president for chapter programs of the March of Dimes. “The March of Dimes wants to prevent prematurity from occurring in the first place. We want every birth to be a healthy one.”
SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2005;352:9-19
