|
|
Article: Steroid use in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: a preventable cause of cerebral palsy and developmental delay.
- Article from:
- The Exceptional Parent
- Article date:
- September 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 EP Global Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Each year some 40,000 infants in the United States are born more than ten weeks prematurely, that is, after a pregnancy of less than 30 weeks in length. Just 20 years ago, the majority of such newborns died shortly after birth, usually because their lungs were too immature to allow them to breathe effectively. Now, at least 80 percent of extremely premature infants survive to hospital discharge. Those that do perish most often succumb in the first week of life, from strokes, infections and birth defects. Death from the typical lung disease of prematurity--Hyaline Membrane Disease (HMD) or Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)--has become quite rare.
The reasons ...