Mental health articles

Premature births in Australia
The incidence of prematurity, that is, infants born at less than 37 weeks’
gestation, is about 10 per cent of all live births. However, about 1.4 per cent of
all annual live births in the United States are infants born less than 1500 grams,
referred to as very low birthweight (VLBW), while infants born less than 1000
grams are referred to as extremely low birthweight (ELBW) (Browne, 2003).
The figure is probably similar for Australia. These infants are usually born at
least eight weeks early. Minde (2000) quotes studies indicating that in well-equipped hospitals the survival rate for these infants has improved
dramatically over the past 10 years. However, Minde states ‘these data, which
document the improved overall outcome, also suggest that more premature
infants remain in hospitals for a longer time now than ever before’.

Tags: premature