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Late preterm infants are infants born at a gestational age between weeks and weeks.〔 They have higher morbidity and mortality rates than term infants (gestational age ≥37 weeks) due to their relative physiologic and metabolic immaturity, even though they are often the size and weight of some term infants. "Late preterm" has replaced "near term" to describe this group of infants, since near term incorrectly implies that these infants are "almost term" and only require routine neonatal care.〔 In 2005, late-preterm births accounted for more than 70% of all preterm births (<37 weeks’ gestation), or approximately 377,000 infants. In fact, much of the increase in the preterm birth rate in recent years can be attributed to increases in late-preterm births.〔 == Risk Factors == Several important factors that may predispose late-preterm infants to medical conditions associated with immaturity:〔 * respiratory distress * apnea * temperature instability * hypoglycemia * hyperbilirubinemia * poor feeding At 34–35 weeks, the brain weight is only about that of a full-term baby. This may lead to an increased risk of: * Mental retardation * Developmental delay/disability * Special needs – education * Retention in kindergarten * Cerebral palsy 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Late preterm infant」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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