Near-term/Late Preterm Infants

Near-term/late preterm newborns are born between 34 0/7 and 36 6/7 weeks postmenstrual age and are therefore premature because they are born before 37 completed weeks. More than 360 000 near-term/late preterm newborns were born in the United States in 2004, representing more than 71% of all preterm births. They may be cared for in low-risk or high-risk settings depending upon their immediate transition to extrauterine life. Although they may be treated like term newborns, they are at increased risk for problems with thermoregulation, hypoglycemia, respiratory distress, severe hyperbilirubinemia, sepsis evaluations, apnea and bradycardia, and feeding, which may require longer hospitalization after birth and may result in rehospitalization after initial discharge. Neonatal nurses must be able to identify these newborns as at-risk and conduct appropriate assessments and monitoring wherever they are cared for to insure safe care and to optimize outcomes.