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Late preterm infants: undercooked and overlooked

Pediatric Research volume 95, pages 605–606 (2024)Cite this article

Preterm birth and associated complications are a leading cause of death for children under 5.1 For Late Preterm Infants (LPI), defined as 34.0 to 36.6 weeks completed gestational age, mortality is thankfully much, much lower thanks to advancements in therapy over the last several decades. LPI, however, still face significant challenges compared to term infants, including both short-term morbidities such as jaundice and hypoglycemia as well as long term neurologic, psychiatric, and developmental disorders. Though often mistakenly overlooked because of their size similarity to term infants, this population, comprising nearly 75% of all preterm births, is vulnerable to morbidities involving every organ system. Furthermore, as worldwide rates of late preterm birth continue to rise, medical and educational systems struggle to address the growing needs of this high-risk group.

Neonatology is a relatively young specialty and research directed toward the LPI population is even newer. Indeed, the term “Late Preterm Infant” only became standard after a 2005 National Institute of Health sponsored workshop, “Optimizing Care and Outcome of the Near-Term Pregnancy and the Near-Term Newborn Infant”.2 Two years later, a Clinical Report from the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Fetus and Newborn, “Late-Preterm Infants: A Population at Risk”, highlighted the need for more knowledge and research on the “long-term medical, neurologic, and developmental outcomes for late-preterm infants”.3 There are a number of challenges to this directive, including funding as well as the fact that most high-risk neonatal follow up clinics (“preemie clinics”) are focused on extremely premature infants and do not routinely follow LPI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neonatology, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106-1716, USA

    Jonathan M. Fanaroff & Deanne E. Wilson-Costello

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  1. Jonathan M. Fanaroff
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  2. Deanne E. Wilson-Costello
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Correspondence to Jonathan M. Fanaroff.

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Fanaroff, J.M., Wilson-Costello, D.E. Late preterm infants: undercooked and overlooked. Pediatr Res 95, 605–606 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02832-7

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