STUDIES ON PREMATURITY

The fatality rate of 791 liveborn premature infants delivered at the Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn during the five year period from 1941 to 1945 was investigated. The data were analyzed to determine the significance of fetal maturity and of magnitude of birth weight as factors influencing survival. It was found that for a given weight group, the fatality rate varied inversely with the length of the gestation period. In other words, the outlook for the infant improved in proportion to the degree of its maturity. This was especially striking in the case of infants weighing less than 1500 gm., a result which served to emphasize the importance of length of gestation period as well as birth weight in predicting the chance of survival. Premature infants born of multiple births had a lower over-all fatality rate than those born of single births. This was directly attributable to the greater maturity of babies born of multiple births.