The Impact of Premature Birth on Infants

The Impact of Premature Birth on Infants

Introduction

Premature birth can be described as a birth that occurs before the estimated due date, this could take place three weeks earlier or more. In general, any birth that takes place before the onset of the 37^th week of pregnancy (Howson et al., 2013). Previously, the definition of premature babies was 5.5 pounds or 2500 grams or less at birth. Preterm births are further divided into late or preterm if this occurs between 32^nd and the 37^th week of gestation, very preterm if this takes place between 28^th and 32^nd week, and extremely preterm if it occurs earlier than the 23rd week…