MORBIDITY OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT AND/OR PRETERM CHILDREN COMPARED TO THAT OF THE "MATURE"

Medically attended illnesses were investigated in 357 children, representing 100% of all the low birth weight children in a cohort of some 10,000 white, single, liveborn infants; in a random sample of 180 children who weighed more than 2,500 gm at birth after a gestation period of less than 37 weeks; and in a random sample of equal size of children who weighed more than 2,500 gm at birth after a gestation period of more than 37 weeks. The low birth weight and the preterm children did not suffer higher acute disease rates between discharge from the hospital after their birth and their second birthday than did the "mature" children.