An infant is being discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit after 70 days of hos-pitalization

Question

The infant was born at 30 weeks of gestation with several conditions asso-ciated with prematurity, including respiratory distress syndrome, mild bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and retinopathy of prematurity requiring surgical treatment. During discharge teaching the infant's mother asks the nurse if her baby will meet developmental miles-tones on time, as did her son who was born at term. The nurse's most appropriate re-sponse would be: a. "Your baby will develop exactly like your first child did."
b. "Your baby does not appear to have any problems at the present time."
c. "Your baby will need to be corrected for prematurity. Your baby is currently 40 weeks of postconceptional age and can be expected to be doing what a 40-week-old infant would be doing."
d. "Your baby will need to be followed very closely."

Answer 1

C

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A Although it is impossible to predict with complete accuracy the growth and de-velopment potential of each preterm infant, certain measurable factors predict normal growth and development. The preterm infant experiences catch-up body growth during the first 2 to 3 years of life. The growth and developmental mi-lestones are corrected for gestational age until the child is approximately 2½ years old.
B This statement is inaccurate. Development will need to be evaluated over time.
C The age of a preterm newborn is corrected by adding the gestational age and the postnatal age. The infant's responses are evaluated accordingly against the norm expected for the corrected age of the infant.
D The growth and developmental milestones are corrected for gestational age until the child is approximately 2½ years old.