What term describes a patient from birth to one year?

• A. Infant
• B. Neonate
• C. Toddler
• D. Preschooler

Answer: (A)

Understanding pediatric age groups starts with the newborn period called the neonate, which covers the first 28 days after birth. After that comes the infant period, typically from about one month through the first year of life. In many EMS and pediatric references, a patient from birth up to one year is categorized as an infant for practical purposes, even though the very first month is sometimes labeled as neonatal. The other terms describe later life stages: a toddler is roughly one to three years old, and a preschooler is roughly three to five years old. So the term used for a patient from birth to one year is infant.