Dutch Preventive Youth Health Care Service guideline on children born too early and/or too small for gestational age
van der Pal, S.M.; Heerdink, N.; Kamphuis, M.; Pols, M.A.
Nederlands Tijdschrift Voor Geneeskunde 158: A6745
2014
ISSN/ISBN: 0028-2162 PMID: 25017978 Document Number: 674355
In children who are born prematurely or whose birth weight is too low for gestational age (small for gestational age (SGA)) intensive care and follow up are desirable.However, obstacles include the shared care of children born very preterm (< 32 weeks of gestation) by paediatricians, general practitioners, youth health care service (and other professionals) and the identification of possible late onset health problems in children born late preterm (32-37 weeks of gestation). This guideline is multidisciplinary and evidence based and is relevant to all professionals involved in the care of this group of children. The main recommendations are: (a) timely and complete transfer of information after discharge from hospital; (b) structured exchange of information in aftercare; (c) assigning a case manager to each child; (d) monitoring growth and development by adjusting age for preterm birth, and (e) using special growth charts for children born preterm to evaluate growth and development.