Multidisciplinary guidelines for the care of late preterm infants

Late preterm infants (LPIs), like all other newborns, should have a qualified healthcare provider assigned to their care during the immediate postpartum recovery period following birth. 7 Late preterm infants may experience delayed or inadequate transition to the extra-uterine environment, so careful consideration of staffing ratios during transition (1–12 h after birth) for this population of infants is necessary. 8 Because of their increased vulnerabilities, LPIs require continued close monitoring throughout the first 24 h after birth. Whenever possible, mother and infant should remain together, rooming in 24- h a day. Frequent, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact should be encouraged to promote optimal physiological stability. All LPIs are at risk for morbidities severe enough to require transition to a higher level of care. If an LPI is transitioned to a higher level of care, special attention should be paid to preparing the mother for going home without her newborn, and she should be monitored closely for signs of postpartum depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in the postpartum period.