Survival
Of the 4004 births between 20 weeks and 25 weeks and 6 days, 811 infants were admitted to an Intensive Care Unit and 314 survived to discharge home (39%).
Survival at each week, after birth up to discharge is shown below. The risk of death was greatest in the first week after birth. Initial survival rates over the first 7 days were:
|
At 25 weeks |
75% |
|
24 weeks |
60% |
|
< 24 weeks |
45% |
Was there any difference between large and small centres?
The major centres for Neonatal Care around the UK (i.e. those that care for large numbers of premature babies) did not show increased survival rates compared to smaller centres.
However, units in the UK are small compared to centres in Australia and in America. It is unclear whether survival and quality of survival would be improved by fewer larger centres caring for this group of infants. Read More>