Preterm birth in the context of "Cerebral palsy"

In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from Latin īnfāns 'baby, child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of other organisms. A newborn is, in colloquial use, a baby who is only hours, days, or weeks old; while in medical contexts, a newborn or neonate (from Latin neonātus 'newborn') is an infant in the first 28 days after birth (the term applies to premature, full term, and postmature infants).

Infants born prior to 37 weeks of gestation are called "premature", those born between 39 and 40 weeks are "full term", those born through 41 weeks are "late term", and anything beyond 42 weeks is considered "post term".

Kangaroo mother care (KMC), which involves skin-to-skin contact (SSC), is an intervention to care for premature or low birth weight (LBW) infants. The technique and intervention is the recommended evidence-based care for LBW infants by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2003.

In the 2003 WHO Kangaroo Mother Care practical guide, KMC is defined as a "powerful, easy-to-use method to promote the health and well-being of infants born preterm as well as full-term", with its key components being:

March of Dimes is an American nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to combat polio. The name "March of Dimes" was coined by Eddie Cantor as a pun on the newsreel series The March of Time. After funding Jonas Salk's polio vaccine, the organization expanded its focus to the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality. In 2005, as preterm birth emerged as the leading cause of death for children worldwide, research and prevention of premature birth became the organization's primary focus.