Morbidity of very low birthweight infants at corrected age of two years in a geographically defined population. Report from Project on Preterm and Small for gestational age infants in The Netherlands.

In a nationwide prospective survey on very preterm and very-low-birthweight infants in the Netherlands, a neurodevelopmental assessment was made at the corrected age of two years in a virtually complete population. The study achieved a 97.4% follow-up rate. A major handicap was found in 59 children and a minor handicap in 111 children (4.4% and 8.3% of liveborn infants, respectively). Unlike mortality, handicap was apparently unrelated to gestational age or birthweight.