PEDIATRICS Vol. 102 No. 1 July 1998, pp. 159
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To the Editor.
If the combined goals of perinatal intensive care are to promote
survival and to prevent handicap in high-risk neonatal populations, then examination of factors that may affect developmental outcome is
critical. Recent data suggest that preterm neonates <1250 g birth
weight represent over 1% of all live births in the United States1; the survival rate for this population of infants
exceeds 85%, yet the handicap rate has not changed during the past
decade. In addition, 15% to 36% of these children have been reported
to suffer major