Preterm birth

Pronunciation

Definition 1

The birth of a baby before 37 weeks of pregnancy. In humans, a normal pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks. The risk of preterm birth may be increased by certain health problems in the mother, such as diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease, or problems during pregnancy. Smoking cigarettes, being exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke, drinking alcohol, and taking certain drugs during pregnancy may also increase the risk of a preterm birth. Also called premature birth. (NCI Dictionary)

Definition 2

The birth of an infant of less than 37 weeks for the gestational age. (NCI Thesaurus)

Definition 3

A disorder characterized by delivery of a viable infant before the normal end of gestation. Typically, viability is achievable between the twentieth and thirty-seventh week of gestation. (NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

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