Background: Complimentary and alternative medicine is used by millions of people to supplement Western medicine practices or in some cultures, substitute for Western medicine. It is imperative that pediatric nurses be knowledgeable concerning health beliefs and practices of the populations they serve. The Asian population continues to grow and immigrants often maintain health beliefs and illness management strategies from their culture.

Results: In group A there has been no change in survival. There have been an increase in the number of admissions and survival of very low birthweight (VLBW) infants in groups D and E. Respiratory problems are one of the main causes of death in DGH Z. Conclusion: We have demonstrated a changing pattern of admission to the neonatal unit with better survival following the introduction of treatments such as CPAP with established links between institutions. The introduction of standardised protocols and staff training has made a difference. Further improvements in survival could be achieved by introducing formalised Neonatal Life Support resuscitation courses for all staff, medical and nursing, involved in neonatal care.

initial and transient delay and disharmonic profiles in all aspects examined, with scores within the lower limits of typical development range. Otherwise, on the basis of age correction, preterm infants show performances, since the first observations, on or over the mean value. Conclusions: Using the age correction for prematurity the communicative and language abilities of preterm infants were overestimated and the initial delay of language development was underestimated. Findings are discussed considering the role of gestational age, but also of environmental factors, on early language development and the utility of correct age on the assessment of preterm infants during the second year of age.