Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


0

Sex a Factor in Preemie Survival

Gender, birth weight increase odds for newborns

Share

(Newser) – Gestational age is not the only factor determining odds of a very premature baby's survival, a study finds. Being female, receiving lung-maturing steroids before birth, an extra 3½ ounces of weight and being a single birth all help as much as an extra week of pregnancy, the AP reports. The findings will help doctors and parents decide on heroic measures to save a fragile preemie.

Gestational age%u2014the number of weeks from fertilization to birth%u2014is closely connected to chances of survival. In the study, 95% of babies born at 22 weeks died, while at 25 weeks, only about 25% died.
Gestational age%u2014the number of weeks from fertilization to birth%u2014is closely connected to chances of survival. In the study, 95% of babies born at 22 weeks died, while at 25 weeks, only about...   (Getty Images (by Event))
The new study focused on 4,200 extremely premature infants born at hospitals across the country, focusing on babies born after 22 to 25 weeks in the womb. A full term is about 40 weeks.
The new study focused on 4,200 extremely premature infants born at hospitals across the country, focusing on babies born after 22 to 25 weeks in the womb. A full term is about 40 weeks.   (AP Photo/Capital Health System, Laura Cann)
Half died within two years after birth. About 12% survived, with impairments like blindness, deafness or cerebral palsy. About the same number had even more severe physical or mental disabilities.
Half died within two years after birth. About 12% survived, with impairments like blindness, deafness or cerebral palsy. About the same number had even more severe physical or mental disabilities.   (KRT Photos)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.24.09
Murdoch and Microsoft: The Mice Are Trying to Roar
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
0 comments
VIEWING:
 
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

203 Stories

 Miss. Baby OK After 
 Spin in Washing Machine 

7-month-old Valle Hernandez on the mend after mishap

Nov 16, 09 4:02 PM CST
(Newser) - A Mississippi infant is out of the hospital and on the mend after accidentally going for a terrifying ride in a washing machine. Seven-month-old Valle Hernandez wound up inside a front-loading machine—apparently with an assist from his 4-year-old brother—and his mother started the machine before noticing him, reports... More »

MORE ABOUT:
baby • Mississippi • washing machine • laundry • baby washing machine • Valle Hernandez

OPINION



 Daughters 
 Are Great, 
 But ... 

Retro preference for sons is alive and well

Nov 16, 09 1:57 PM CST
(Newser) - Aaron Traister is thrilled to have a daughter—“I was just as excited about my daughter as I was about my son,” he writes. “And she's even better out of the belly.” But the nagging preference for male children in our society has him doubting his... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gender • pregnancy • fatherhood • parenting • parents • baby • female • girls • daughter • gender bias • cultural preference for male children

Wah!

 Even Babies Are Airbrushed 

Babies subject to the tyranny of Photoshop, too

Nov 16, 09 8:03 AM CST
(Newser) - Even babies can't meet the media-industrial complex's exacting standards: Baby photos are airbrushed before making their way to magazines, to tweak skin tone, swap eye color, and airbrush fat lines and creases, reports the Daily Telegraph . While many are riled, to some, this is not news: "You kind... More »

MORE ABOUT:
baby • Photoshop • digital retouching • babies • airbrush

203 Stories


New England Journal of Medicine study: Intensive care for extreme prematurity
New England Journal of Medicine

Preemie risks last into adulthood
Time


Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserScience on Twitter

 
New England Journal of Medicine • baby • preemies • premature baby

from our news partners