The Fate and Development of the Immature and of the Premature Child

Abstract

About 55 per cent of immature infants live until the end of the first year; 52 per cent reach the school age, and 51 per cent reach the age of puberty; in other words, the mortality after the school age is not any higher than for mature children. This is not true, unfortunately, of the physical as well as of the mental development of the immature infant.Ylpp\l=o"\, in his calculations, always referred to the conception age, i. e., to the intra-uterine and extra-uterine age of the child. He calculated the intra-uterine age from a fetal weight and length curve, so that when he speaks of a child 5 years of age, and that child was born at the end of seven months of pregnancy, the child's extra-uterine or citizen age is really 4 years and 5 months. I prefer to make my calculations on the basis of the extra-uterine age alone, because when a comparative study is made of the data with measurements of normal children, the latter are also based on the extra-uterine or official age alone.

Health of Premature Children from Birth to Four Years

“…Capper (1928) thought that during the first year a premature child has little resistance to infection of the respiratory tract, whereas after the first year his resistance is not unlike that of a mature child. Mohr and Bartelme (1934) likewise noted the frequent occurrence of respiratory infections, particularly colds, among the prematurely born.…”

Studies in Prematurity. Part 4: Development and Progress of the Prematurely Born Child in the Pre-School Period

“…Hess and others (1934) found that the incidence of conunon contagious diseases of childhood did not differ in premature and full-term children, though there seemed to be a more frequent occurrence of respiratory infections, especially 'frequent colds' and pneumonia, in the premature group. Capper (1928) also found a 77 ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD deraed resistance to infection, especially of the respiratory tact, in prematurely born children, chiefly in the first year of life. Pya examitiom.…”

Prenatal and Paranatal Factors in the Development of Childhood Reading Disorders

“…A number of them exhibited nervous symptoms such as nocturnal enuresis, speech disorders, or night terrors. Capper (17) observed " . .…”