ABSTRACT
The prevention of prematurity and infants of low birth weight is still an important task for obstetricians. Infants who are born prematurely (<37+0 weeks of gestation) and/or have a low birth weight (<2500g) have a higher risk of mortality and morbidity. In particular, those infants are at risk who are born very prematurely (<32+0 weeks of gestation) and also those whose birth weight is very low (<1500 g). Mortality increases rapidly with decreasing birth weight. Serious complications caused by prematurity are respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular hemorrhage, leukomalacia and necrotizing enterocolitis1,2. Late sequelae include cerebral palsy, hearing and visual deficits, epilepsy and low intelligence3-5. A further problem is an increased susceptibility to infections6.
