Premature and Small Babies
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A premature baby is one who
is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. See also . A number of problems are associated with prematurity. For
information on such disorders, go .
A low-birthweight infant is one who is born after
the the normal gestational period (38-42 week) but weights less than 2..5
kgs (5.5 pounds) at birth.
Click
for a table of the percentages of low-birthweights in different areas
of the world.
A small for gestational age baby
is one who is unusually small for the number of weeks in gestation. This
term refers to weight, not the length of the baby.
A growth-retarded baby is one
whose growth in the uterus has been somehow stunted. Such a baby would
be both smaller and weigh less than a normal neonate.
The information in this page is presented in summarised form and has been taken
from the following source(s):
1.
Child Development , 6th Edition (1994), J. W. Santrock, Wm. C. Brown
Communications, Inc.
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Introduction
