The premature infant is at increased risk to die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).¹ Although the overall risk in Los Angeles County in 1996 was 1.5 per 1000 live births, that for the baby born before 37 weeks' gestation was approximately five times as high. This increased risk has been recognized for many years, yet the reasons remain obscure. It would be highly desirable to be able to identify the individual infant who is at greatest risk within the group. Without information as to cause, this has proven impossible thus far. A number of efforts have been made to identify subpopulations of premature infants in whom the risk is greater. Only one factor has been reliably associated with risk, and that is gestational age.² This has been true in all studies reporting weeks of gestation, and the association is inverse. The shorter the gestational interval, the more immature the infant is at birth. The more immature the infant, the higher the risk is that the infant will die of SIDS. In our nursery follow-up clinic where we see infants after discharge whose birth weight was <1500 g, corresponding to a gestational age . . . [Full Text of this Article]