Weight, Sex Affect Early Preterm Survival
Weight, Sex Affect Early Preterm Survival
Study Pinpoints 4 Factors That Influence Survival Odds for Babies Born at 22-25 Weeks
April 16, 2008 -- For babies born extremely early, new research shows that four factors -- aside from the baby's gestational age -- may affect their odds of survival if given intensive care.
The four factors are:
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So says a new study of more than 4,000 extremely preterm babies born in the U.S. at 22-25 weeks of gestation.
The study is "exciting," says Donna R. Halloran, MD, MSPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University, who reviewed the study for WebMD.
"I think without a doubt it will change the way we counsel families," says Halloran, who plans to start using the findings right away in counseling parents of extremely preterm babies.
U.S. preterm births are up 21% since 1990, according to a recent report in Pediatrics. Most of those preemies are born at 34-36 weeks of gestation, not at the much younger ages covered in the new study, which appears in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers -- who included Jon Tyson, MD, MPH, of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston -- tracked the babies from birth up to 22 months.
At birth, 83% of the babies got intensive care with mechanical ventilators to help them breathe. That decision was up to the parents and their doctors, not the researchers, who simply tracked the babies' progress.
Of the nearly 4,200 babies with follow-up information available 18-22 months after birth, 61% had died or had profound impairment.
Among babies who got intensive care, survival rates were better for girls, singletons, babies whose mothers had gotten corticosteroid treatment before giving birth, and babies with higher birth weights.
Considering those factors, along with gestational age, may help parents and doctors gauge the chance that intensive care will lead to a "favorable outcome," Tyson's team writes.
Still, those patterns are "no substitute for sound medical judgment" tailored to each baby, Rosemary Higgins, MD, of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, tells WebMD.
Higgins, who worked with Tyson and other scientists on the study, says it's not clear why survival rates were better for girls than boys. "There's probably some biologic difference that we don't understand yet," Higgins says.
Weight, Sex Affect Early Preterm Survival
Study Pinpoints 4 Factors That Influence Survival Odds for Babies Born at 22-25 Weeks
April 16, 2008 -- For babies born extremely early, new research shows that four factors -- aside from the baby's gestational age -- may affect their odds of survival if given intensive care.
The four factors are:
Pregnancy Videos
Video: Pain Relief forChildbirth
Video: Mercury andSeafood
Video: Choosing a Midwife
All Pregnancy-RelatedVideos
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pregnancy symptoms, pregnancy calendar, due date calculator, pregnancy diet, fit pregnancy, ultrasound, morning sickness, conception, prenatal vitamins, gestational diabetes, weight gain, pregnancy tests, miscarriage symptoms
© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rightsreserved.
- Sex (survival is better for girls)
- Single birth or multiple birth (survival is better for singletons)
- Mother's treatment with corticosteroids before giving birth to help the baby's lungs develop (a plus for preemie survival)
- Birth weight (the higher the better)
So says a new study of more than 4,000 extremely preterm babies born in the U.S. at 22-25 weeks of gestation.
The study is "exciting," says Donna R. Halloran, MD, MSPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University, who reviewed the study for WebMD.
"I think without a doubt it will change the way we counsel families," says Halloran, who plans to start using the findings right away in counseling parents of extremely preterm babies.
U.S. preterm births are up 21% since 1990, according to a recent report in Pediatrics. Most of those preemies are born at 34-36 weeks of gestation, not at the much younger ages covered in the new study, which appears in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Extremely Preterm Babies
The researchers -- who included Jon Tyson, MD, MPH, of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston -- tracked the babies from birth up to 22 months.
At birth, 83% of the babies got intensive care with mechanical ventilators to help them breathe. That decision was up to the parents and their doctors, not the researchers, who simply tracked the babies' progress.
Of the nearly 4,200 babies with follow-up information available 18-22 months after birth, 61% had died or had profound impairment.
Among babies who got intensive care, survival rates were better for girls, singletons, babies whose mothers had gotten corticosteroid treatment before giving birth, and babies with higher birth weights.
Considering those factors, along with gestational age, may help parents and doctors gauge the chance that intensive care will lead to a "favorable outcome," Tyson's team writes.
Still, those patterns are "no substitute for sound medical judgment" tailored to each baby, Rosemary Higgins, MD, of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, tells WebMD.
Higgins, who worked with Tyson and other scientists on the study, says it's not clear why survival rates were better for girls than boys. "There's probably some biologic difference that we don't understand yet," Higgins says.
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