Pre-term Birth

  • Pre-term labour is defined as labour that starts before 37 weeks of pregnancy and leads to the delivery of a pre-term infant.
  • Pre-term birth is the leading cause of perinatal death and long-term infant morbidity. In combination with low birth-weight, pre-term birth significantly increases an infant's risk for neurological impairments. Common neurological impairments of prematurity include: blindness, sensory-motor impairments, cognitive impairments and learning disabilities.
  • The incidence of pre-term birth in Canada is estimated to be 1:14 live births. While a
  • 1 in 14 infants are born before term in Canada. While various conditions and factors have been significantly related to pre-term birth, the largest proportion are 'spontaneous' in nature, with no clear identifiable cause. 

IDevice Icon Preknowledge
  • The following terms are important to understanding the birth history:
    • preterm and full term birth
    • corrected age
    • APGAR score
    • weight for gestational age

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