Sequelae of Premature Birth

Introduction Until recently, it was considered1-3that premature infants might have an increased possibility of being handicapped but that the total number of such involved children was likely to be small and the severity of handicaps relatively mild or of limited duration. Recent reports4-8dealing with the growth and development of prematurely born children give an unfavorable prognosis for central nervous system growth. Since the mid-1950's, reports on the incidence of handicaps found in premature infants show an increased number of children to be abnormal. The predominant type of defect described appears to vary with the experience of the authors. For example, Dann et al5found a lowering of the intelligence quotient in 44% of the children that they were able to follow, a high incidence of ophthalmologic defects, but very few physical defects except delay in attaining normal stature. Drillien4noted intellectual, behavioral, and physical