Paeds Cases · fetal-neonatal-and-perinatal
Gestational age assessment and preterm classification — OSCE
OSCE station: explaining to parents how their baby's gestational age was determined, what the classification means, and why it shapes care and follow-up.
On this page
Study tools
Target exams
MRCPCH ClinicalRACP DCE
Prompt
Parents of a 31-week infant, weighing 1500 g, attend the bedside on day 2. They ask how the team knows the baby is 31 weeks, what the labels 'very preterm' and 'low birthweight' mean, and what difference it makes to the baby's care.
Objectives
- Explain in plain language how gestational age is assigned antenatally and confirmed postnatally. [3] [1]
- Explain what the very-preterm and low-birthweight labels mean and why they are not the same thing. [2]
- Describe the care and screening that the classification triggers. [4] [5]
- Outline the corrected-age follow-up plan and invite the family into shared understanding. [5]
References5ShowHide
- [1]Ballard JL New Ballard Score, expanded to include extremely premature infants J Pediatr, 1991.PMID 1880657
- [2]Villar J International standards for newborn weight, length, and head circumference by gestational age and sex: the Newborn Cross-Sectional Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project Lancet, 2014.PMID 25209487
- [3]American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee Opinion No 700: Methods for Estimating the Due Date Obstet Gynecol, 2017.PMID 28426621
- [4]Engle WA Late-preterm infants: a population at risk Pediatrics, 2007.PMID 18055691
- [5]Fenton TR A systematic review and meta-analysis to revise the Fenton growth chart for preterm infants BMC Pediatr, 2013.PMID 23601190