Late preterm infants (born at 34-36 weeks gestation) have increasingly been regarded as 'at risk' rather than 'Iow risk' infants. The impact of neonatal morbidity and admission for neonatal care, on the longer term outcomes of LPls has not been fully explored. This thesis has sought to bridge an identified gap in the literature relating to this significant group of neonatal care graduates. The overall aim of this thesis was to consider the significant population of LPls who require admission for neonatal care. Firstly, maternal and perinatal risk factors and neonatal outcomes were considered through a descriptive analysis of neonatal data from the Neonatal Intensive Care Outcomes Research and Evaluation (NICORE) database. The second component of the thesis then considered specifically the early childhood development (cognition, language, motor development, physical health and growth) at three years of age of LPls who required neonatal Intensive Care (lC) compared with infants of the same gestational age who did not require Intensive Care. LPls who required neonatal care were identified as a unique group, with distinct characteristics and outcomes in the neonatal period when compared to other admitted infants. LPls requiring Intensive Care (IC) had increased maternal and perinatal risk factors and increased adverse neonatal outcomes compared to LPls who required Special Care Only (SCO). Findings from the follow-up study revealed that despite increased maternal and perinatal risk factors and neonatal morbidity, LPls who required admission to IC had similar cognitive, language and motor abilities and growth, compared with their peers, who were not admitted for le. However, LPls who required IC had increased health service usage compared to the non-IC infants. Having considered, for the first time, the neonatal outcomes and early childhood development of LPls on the basis of their requirement for neonatal Intensive Care, this thesis has provided a novel insight into the outcomes of this under-researched group of children.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:579735 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | McGowan, Jennifer Edna |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0063 seconds