Extremely Low Birth Weight Children and Their Peers: A Comparison of Preschool Performance

Low birth weight seems to be a major risk factor for developmental disability. Up to 25 per cent of children with birth weights less than 1500 gm will have developmental disabilities. Estimates in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants (less than 1000 gm) predict that up to 60 per cent will have some sort of problem in school. This study was designed to prospectively document the developmental outcomes of a cohort of white, middle-class children with birth weights less than 1000 gm.The study was conducted with graduates of the neonatal intensive care unit in a midwestern city. Infants were born between 1984 and 1986. The neonatal survival rate for infants under 1000 gm during this time period was 58 per cent. One hundred thirteen ELBW infants born during the study period were discharged alive. By 4 years of age, 9 of these children had died, 18 were known to have moved to a different location, 22 could not be found, and 4 refused participation in the study.