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Growing Up In Ireland: Factors Impacting Sleep Patterns Of Preterm Infants, Joanne Fallon

Theses and Dissertations

GROWING UP IN IRELAND: FACTORS IMPACTING SLEEP PATTERNS OF PRETERM INFANTS

By Joanne Fallon MS, OT, PhD

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015.

Major Director: Shelly J. Lane, PhD, Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy

Preterm infants represent the largest child patient group in the European Union (EU), accounting for 5.5-11.4% of all births (European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants, 2011b). Preterm birth is defined as birth prior to 37 weeks gestation. Infants born late preterm (34-36 weeks) are considered more …