Washington - The consequences of being prematurely born are large and lasting, which includes a greater risk of fatality during childhood and lesser rate of reproduction as grown ups, scientists reported on Tuesday.

This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.The study followed about 1.2 million individuals born between1967 and 1988 in Norway.Though it is known that babies born earlier than the thirty seventh week of pregnancy or 3 weeks prior to the actual due date, are at greater risk for different developmental and medical problems as children only few things are known regarding their health in the long-term.

The researchers identified that the majority of premature babies had good reproduction and health in the long term but as a whole they had greater enduring problems than full-term babies.

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