Question

An infant is being discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit after 70 days of hospitalization. The infant was born at 30 weeks of gestation with several conditions associated with prematurity, including respiratory distress syndrome, mild bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and retinopathy of prematurity requiring surgical treatment. During discharge teaching the infant's mother asks the nurse if her baby will meet developmental milestones on time, as did her son who was born at term. The nurse's most appropriate response is:

a. "Your baby will develop exactly like your first child did."
b. "Your baby does not appear to have any problems at the present time."
c. "Your baby will need to be corrected for prematurity. Your baby is currently 40 weeks of postconceptional age and can be expected to be doing what a 40-week-old infant would be doing."
d. "Your baby will need to be followed very closely."

Answer 1

The nurse's most appropriate response is that the baby will need to be corrected for prematurity and will reach developmental milestones based on the postconceptional age.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse's most appropriate response to the mother's question is:

'Your baby will need to be corrected for prematurity. Your baby is currently 40 weeks of postconceptional age and can be expected to be doing what a 40-week-old infant would be doing.'

Developmental milestones are typically based on the postconceptional age rather than the actual age of the infant. Premature infants may need some extra time to reach their developmental milestones compared to infants born at term.