Chapter 447 Physiologic Anemia of Infancy
Premature infants also develop a physiologic anemia, known as physiologic anemia of prematurity. The hemoglobin decline is both more extreme and more rapid. Minimal hemoglobin levels of 7-9 g/dL commonly are reached by 3-6 wk of age, and levels may be even lower in very small premature infants (Chapter 97