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Early Premature Infant Physiologic And Behavioral Indicators Of Ans Instability, Karen Popp Becker

Theses and Dissertations

The advanced survival of the early premature infant (EPI) since the post-surfactant era has not improved many comorbidities. EPI comorbidities influence their lifelong health, social, and cognitive outcomes. EPIs often have immature and disorganized responses to stimuli during the neonatal period. EPIs respond to stressors from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit’s (NICU) environment, stimulation, or disease states based on physiologic system changes, often resulting in observable behavioral changes. Both physiologic and behavioral changes reflect autonomic nervous system (ANS) disruption, thus instability. Instability of the ANS due to chronic stressors, can lead to chronic physiologic dysregulation and lead to lifelong health …