The Ongoing Trauma of Prematurity
As an obstetrician-gynecologist I’ve counseled many women about their risks of a premature delivery and delivered hundreds of premature babies, yet I didn’t think much about the ramifications after I handed the tiny newborn to the neonatal intensive care unit team. And there are many ramifications.
Ten percent of births in the United States are premature, meaning they take place before 37 weeks. More babies die from prematurity in the first month of life than from any other cause, and it is a significant cause of disability in children.
