Question
My baby is premature. What is the corrected age for a neonate with premature rupture of membranes?
Answer
Use the corrected age until the baby reaches 24 months (2 years). All organs of premature babies are formed, but they miss the period of rapid growth in the late pregnancy (the last three months). Even very early premature babies born before 28 weeks have not gone through this process. More importantly, brain development is also very fast in the later stages of pregnancy. If we observe the physical and motor development of a 32-week or even 28-week-old baby according to the standard of a 40-week full-term pregnancy, it is obvious that no one is normal for such premature babies. It is more accurate to evaluate their growth and development based on the baby’s own fetal developmental age.