Prematurity and Low Birthweight

An in-depth discussion of the specific nutrition-related issues for infants who were born prematurely is beyond the scope of these modules. Some of the key issues are reviewed below. In addition, a number of resources are available for community providers who see premature infants. These are included at the end of this section.

Definition

Premature infants are those who were born before 37 weeks gestational age. Even infants who were born "late" or "moderately" preterm are at medical and developmental risk. Infants born between 32 and 37 weeks gestational age are considered moderate to late preterm. Very preterm infants are born between 28 and 32 weeks gestational age, and infants born before 28 weeks gestation are considered extremely preterm.

Further classification is made, based on the infant’s birthweights:

• Small for gestational age (SGA) – birthweight less than the 10th percentile for gestational age
• Low birthweight (LBW) – birthweight less than 2500 grams (5 pounds, 8 ounces)
• Very low birthweight (VLBW) – birthweight less than 1500 grams (3.3 pounds)
• Extremely low birthweight (ELBW) – birthweight less than 1000 grams (2.25 pounds)