Infants ≤24 weeks are not just smaller extremely preterm infants
Among the most pressing topics in neonatal-perinatal medicine today is intensive care for infants born at ≤24 weeks' gestation. Infants born at 22-24 weeks comprise ~1 in 500 live births, with ~7500 liveborn infants annually in the U.S.-more common than Down syndrome or critical congenital heart disease-and make up 1 in 5 U.S. infant deaths. Major uncertainties exist about clinical decisions, including regarding obstetric care, delivery room procedures, incubator management, nutrition, respiratory support, and the optimal developmental environment. Partnering with families, we can develop a sound basis for safe and effective medical care of pregnant women and infants affected by birth at ≤24 weeks.
Authors
- Dustin D. Flannery (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2883-4683)
- Johan Ågren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9510-048X)
- Kaashif A. Ahmad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5970-6791)
- Matthew A. Rysavy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1209-6607)
- Satoshi Kusuda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5318-8877)
- Carl H. Backes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5286-890X)
- Kourtney Vier
- Edward F. Bell
- Tarah T Colaizy
- Noelle E. Younge
- Tetsuya Isayama
Institutions
- Uppsala University (SE)
- University of Iowa (US)
- Memorial Hermann (US)
- Nationwide Children's Hospital (US)
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US)
- Duke University (US)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Kyorin University (JP)
- House of Representatives (NL)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
- Mednax (United States) (US)
- National Center For Child Health and Development (JP)
- Woman’s Hospital of Texas (US)
- The University of Texas Health Science Center (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Perinatology
- Published
- 2026-02-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-026-02585-1
- Primary Topic
- Neonatal Respiratory Health Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00