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Expert Q&A
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| By John Dorsey, M.D. Pediatrician | ||
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My twin boys were born at 23 weeks. May 11, 2002 is their birthday. They were due on September 3, 2002. Do I go by their gestation age or their corrective age?
You really have to go by the birth age or chronological age. When a child is born, that is his birth date and age. So, one year later, his birthday falls on the day he was born, not when he was supposed to be born.
The only instance where corrective ages are sometimes used are by pediatricians during the first year of life when testing for different child development issues. In your case, May 11 is the date to go by.
In fact, by age 2, your children born at 23 weeks should be completely caught up with full-term babies in all stages of development.
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