Interviews were conducted with 36 mothers of premature infants to assess their perceptions and satisfaction with their infants' care 7 and 7 months after discharge from the NICU. The extent to which mothers received information that assisted them in caring for their infant at home also was assessed. In general, nearly all mothers reported receiving information related to their baby's health and routine care of their baby, such as bathing and feeding. In contrast, many reported not receiving information about developmental issues or on topics such as transfer of medical records and payment for the hospitalization. Results suggest that parents have informational needs that may not be met through traditional discharge teaching. Recommendations for meeting these needs through an individualized transition planner are provided.
We reviewed the perinatal management and subsequent outcome of infants 401 to 800 gm birthweight delivered in 1983 to 1985 compared with those born in 1980 to 1982. Intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring, cesarean section delivery, attempted delivery room resuscitation, and 5-minute Apgar scores greater than 5 were more frequent in 1983 to 1985. Significantly greater neonatal survival was evident for infants 500 to 700 gm birthweight (31%) and 24 to 27 weeks' gestation (45%) in 1983 to 1985, p less than 0.005. Infant birthweight, gestational age, gender, and 5-minute Apgar score, in addition to intrapartum tocolysis use, were predictors of higher survival by stepwise discriminant analysis. At a mean follow-up of 27 months, 13% (6 of 46) born in 1983 to 1985 had major disability compared with 67% (6 of 9) of infants born in 1980 to 1982. There has been a significant increase in survival and improvement in neurodevelopmental follow-up status for infants less than 801 gm birthweight. These improved outcome data should be considered by caregivers providing perinatal management and counseling parents regarding extremely low birthweight infants.
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