August 13 , 2004

Study finds near-term infants at risk for significant health problems

Babies born a few weeks premature, who have generally been considered as healthy as full-term infants, actually have a greater incidence of serious health problems, according to a study from MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHC). In their report in the August issue of Pediatrics, the research team describes finding that babies born at 35 or
36 weeks gestation were more likely to have jaundice, low blood sugar, difficulty maintaining body temperature and other problems.

"Conventional wisdom has been that babies who were near-term but still premature would do as well as full-term babies. But those of us who take care of these children know from experience that they may have more problems than full-term infants do," says Marvin Wang, MD, of the MGHC Neonatology Unit, who led the study, noting that the actual outcomes for such infants had not been previously studied.

The research team analyzed both medical and billing records for 95 full-term and
90 near-term infants, randomly chosen from those born at the MGH over a three-year period. The near-term infants had significantly greater incidence than did full-term infants of being diagnosed with a number of clinical problems and also were more likely to have multiple problems. In terms of health costs, the initial hospital stays of the near-term infants cost an average of $2,600 more than did those of full-term infants.

"There are many 35- or 36-week infants who do just as well as full-term babies, but our results indicate we should have a lower threshold of concern about the possibility
that these children may be at risk for health problems," says Wang .

His coauthors are senior author Elizabeth Catlin, MD, and David Dorer, PhD, both of the MGH, and Michael Fleming of Partners.