Evaluation of problems faced by late premature babies during the first 15 days of their lives

Aim: Preterm births with a gestational age of 340/7-360/7 weeks are considered to have different risks than term births. The aim of this study was to evaluate the problems faced in the first fifteen days by late premature babies born alive between 340/7- 366/7 pregnancy weeks between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014 in Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic. Material and Method: Late premature babies born alive between 340/7- 366/7 pregnancy weeks between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014 in Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic were included in this study. Problems faced by these babies in the first 15 days were evaluated retrospectively. Results: A total of 3716 babies were born from 3575 births in total (97 twins and 22 triplets) in Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic of our hospital between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2014. 1165 of these were preterm births (% 32,5). 597 of preterm births (% 51,2) were late preterm births. A total of 641 babies were born from 597 late preterm births (30 twins and 7 triplet births). Late premature 641 babies constituted % 17,2 of all babies born. A total of 175 babies including 68 babies with congenital abnormality and 107 babies whose postnatal information were unreachable were excluded from the study. The number of babies enrolled in this study was 466; the number of babies hospitalized in the first 24 hours after birth was 385 (% 82,6) and the number of babies given to the mother immediately after birth was 81 (% 17,4). Jaundice in 208 late premature babies (% 44,6), feeding intolerance in 124 babies (% 26,6), transient tachypnea of newborn in 60 babies (% 12,9), hypoglycemia in 48 babies (% 10,3), respiratory distress syndrome in 41 babies (% 8,8), pneumonia in 36 babies (% 7,7), early neonatal sepsis in 18 babies (% 3,9), nosocomial sepsis in 6 babies (% 1,3) and necrotizing enterocolitis in one baby (% 0,2) were detected. Average hospitalization duration of 385 late premature babies requiring hospitalization right after birth was 10,5±8,1 (1-96) days. 59 babies (% 12,7) were hospitalized longer than postnatal 15 days. Of the remaining 407 babies (babies delivered to their mothers right after birth or hospitalized in the first 24 hours after birth and discharged before completing postnatal first 15 days), % 23,8 reapplied to hospital due to jaundice (97), % 7,6 due to feeding difficulty (31) and % 0,49 due to respiratory problem (2). 44 (% 10,8) of the babies who reapplied to the hospital were rehospitalized. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is significantly important to evaluate late preterm babies in newborn period for problems such as feeding intolerance, hypoglycemia, respiratory problem and infection risk. Keywords: Late premature babies, jaundice, feeding intolerance, transient tachypnea of newborn, hypoglycemia, reapplication to the hospital.