The Perinatal Human 3911128 199244911 2008-03-19T01:54:46Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes {{Mergeto|Perinatal period|date=March 2008}} [[Image:The Continuum.jpg|right|thumb|500px|The Emerging Human]] '''The Perinatal age''' is that phase in human development from the time the [[embryo]] has just achieved the stage of 'independent' existence to the first week of life after birth, whatever the [[gestation]] at delivery. The [[Age of Viability]] has been advancing relentlessly as medical revolution continues to unfold. Whereas it used to be 28 weeks, this has been brought back to as much as 23 weeks [22 weeks in a few countries]. Unfortunately, there has been a profound increase in [[morbidity]] and [[death|mortality]] associated with the increased survival to the extent it has led some to question the [[ethics]] and [[morality]] of resuscitating at the edge of viability. How far back can we push the boundary between intruterine and extrauterine gestation is anyone's guess. ==Phases of the Continuum== '''[[Embryo]]''' '''[[Fetus]]''' '''[[Neonate]]''' '''[[Infant]]''' '''Preterm infant''' '''Term infant''' '''Postterm infant''' [[Category:Embryology|Perinatal Human]]