Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW)

Discussion: Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW)
Names
Institution Affiliation
Discussion: Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW)
Limited studies have investigated the impact of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants on families and communities, especially after babies have been discharged from care units. According to Lakshmanan et al (2017), preterm births in the United States comprise account for 11.7% of the total live births. This problem results in increased debt, absence from workplaces, financial burden, social isolation, and unsafe home conditions (Lakshmanan et al., 2017). Preterm births have both short-term and long-term effects on parents and the socioeconomic implications associated with the need for ongoing hospitalization due to the comorbidities affecting premature infants. A recent study indicated that about 11.8% of ELBW occur among African American families compared to 5.7% in White communities. According to the study, 6.3% of Hispanic women had ELBW infants indicating that there are disparities associated with ethnic and cultural groups when it comes to the problem of ELBW (Ratnasiri et al., 2018).
Given the impact of ELBW and the disparities associated with minority groups, there is a need to provide special outpatient support (SOS) to families and communities ...