Pre-mature babies born in the pre-hospital setting: A challenging situation

Babies born at ≥ 37 weeks of gestation are considered to be born at term, therefore any baby born earlier than 37 completed weeks of gestation are termed oas premature or preterm babies. In 1990, the Abortion Act 1967 was amended by the UK Parliament on a free vote, to lower the time limit from 28 weeks to 24 weeks for abortion. With the advancement of medical facilities the survival of preterm babies has improved in the UK and elsewhere (Select Committee on Science and Technology Twelfth Report, 2007). A consistent rise in preterm birth rate has been noted around the world (Norman, 2009). Available statistics from the US show that preterm births constituted 12.8 % of live births in 2006; this is an increase of 20 % since 1990 (Muglia and Katz, 2010). The challenges that result from preterm delivery will vary depending largely on the gestational age and birth weight. The general rule is that adaptation of the newborn to extra-uterine environment becomes more problematic with smaller and less mature babies. It is therefore important to understand some definitions related to the gestational age and weight; these are highlighted in Table 1 (Beck, 2010).