Demographic variables describing the late
preterm infant study participants are presented
in Table 1. The mean gestational age of the infants
enrolled in the study was 36 weeks, with 14%
of the sample born between 35 and 356/7 weeks,
and 86% of the sample born between 36 and 36
6/7 weeks gestation. As indicated by this descriptive
data, the population of late preterm infants
who participated in the study were generally very
healthy, with mean Apgar scores at 1 minute and
5 minutes greater than eight. The proportion of infants
representing a multiple birth and the number
of infants born via cesarean , though greater than
the national averages for these perinatal statistics,
was not unexpected by the research team given
the high-risk maternal patient population cared for
at this institution.