[Cross-sectional study to evaluate the development and risk factors in premature children].

Unlabelled: Prematurity represents an important medical problem due to the increased incidence and complex treatment measures.

Material And Method: We have made a cross-sectional study to evaluate the causes and risk factors of prematurity and after-birth evolution in 652 premature children.

Results: Most children had mothers of low socio-economic status (70.1%), from the countryside (70.5%), housewives (82.8%), elementary educational level (67.7%). The age of pregnancy at the beginning of the observation was significantly different in the urban environment in comparison with the rural (p < 0.05). Emergency life support at birth was needed for 63.2% of the premature newborns and hospitalization in Intensive Care for respiratory distress for 77.6%. Intense icterus required phototherapy in 92% of preterm newborns. Epidemiologic survey proved bacterial colonization in 72.6% of the infants, mostly nasal (24.5%). There was an increased number of bottle-fed infants (63.6%), but regardless of the feeding method, the weight increase was proper.

Conclusion: The improvement of perinatal care allowed the increase of survival rate of premature infants, but a more serious medical surveillance is needed in order to reduce the number of preterm births.