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 would be:

Question

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Premature infants typically require correction for their prematurity when assessing developmental milestones. This means that their chronological age (in days or weeks since birth) is adjusted based on their gestational age at the time of birth. For example, a 70-day-old infant born at 30 weeks' gestation would be corrected to a postconceptional age of 40 weeks (30 + 10). The infant would be expected to be meeting developmental milestones appropriate for a 40-week-old infant. Therefore, the nurse's most appropriate response would be to provide the mother with this explanation. Option A is incorrect because it cannot be guaranteed that the premature infant will develop exactly like a term infant. Option B is incorrect because the absence of current problems does not necessarily predict future developmental delays. Option D is too vague and does not offer a specific explanation.

An Infant Is Being Discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care