Pediatric clinics of North America
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Pediatr. Clin. North Am. · Dec 1991
ReviewNeonatal intensive care: is it worth it? Developmental sequelae of very low birthweight.
A significant portion of the health care dollar has been spent on neonatal intensive care since the early 1970s when technologic developments permitted salvage of very small premature infants. The wisdom of allocating so much for so few has been challenged, especially if the result is an increase in the number of severely mentally and motorically disabled children. Studies from around the world of the secular trends in mortality and morbidity for very and extremely low-birthweight babies uniformly indicate that there have been dramatic decreases in mortality and morbidity in the past 20 years. ⋯ Studies have failed to show a consistent influence of preterm birth on long-term behavior. Behavior is likely affected more by the social-emotional milieu in which the child is reared than prematurity itself. The environment seems to take over in importance in affecting cognitive functioning after the first several years of life.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)