The 20-year old VLBW subjects reported perceived health and managed transition to adulthood similar to controls. Handicapped subjects had poorer self-perceived physical function. ELBW and severe neonatal complications were associated with poorer self-perceived physical health.

All 107 infants weighing ≤ 1500 g at birth (VLBW) and born alive in the south‐east region of Sweden during a 15‐month period in 1987–88 were enrolled in a prospective study to determine the prevalence of handicap and to assess neurological function in comparison with controls. Eighty‐six (80%) infants survived. Twenty (19%) had intracranial haemorrhages (ICH) assessed by ultrasound examinations in the neonatal period and 2 (2.3%) retinopathy of prematurity stage 3 or more. The VLBW infants who survived had fewer optimal neurological responses than the controls at 40 weeks post‐conceptional age. Eighty‐two VLBW children were followed to 4y of age. Three (4%) children had a neurological handicap and 9 (11%) had a moderate neurological deviation. Neither the size of ICH nor neonatal optimality score correlated to neurological outcome at 4 y of age. The VLBW children without neurological handicap or deviation (n= 70) had a delay in psychomotor development in comparison with the controls. Mental development and school performance, in particular language development, will be examined at school age.

Background Individuals born very preterm or with very low birth weight (VLBW) have a reduced likelihood to reproduce according to population-based register studies. Extremely low-birth weight born adults had a lower reproduction rate for both men and women in a follow-up study. Aim To investigate if being born with VLBW is associated with differences in the reproductive health, i.e. age of menarche, menstrual cycle pattern, pregnancy rates and hormone profile compared with women born at term. Methods A prospective long-term follow-up of a cohort of live-born VLBW children and their controls studied repeatedly since birth and now assessed at 26–28 years of age. Of the totally 80 girls enrolled from birth 49 women (24 VLBW women and 25 controls) participated in the current follow-up. The women’s anthropometric data and serum hormone levels were analysed. Results The reproductive hormone levels, including Anti-Mullerian Hormone, did not differ significantly between VLBW women and their controls. Both groups reported menstrual cycle irregularities and pregnancies to the same extent but the VLBW women reported 1.5 years later age of menarche. The VLBW subjects had a catch-up growth within 18 months of birth but remained on average 5 cm shorter in adult height. There were no significant differences in BMI, sagittal abdominal diameter, blood pressure or in their answers regarding life style between the VLBW women and the controls. Conclusion No differences in the reproductive hormone levels were found between VLBW women and their controls. Although age at menarche was somewhat higher in the VLBW group menstrual cycles and pregnancy rates were similar in the VLBW and control groups. Further follow-up studies are required to elucidate the health outcomes of being born VLBW.

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Background: Several scoring systems have been developed for assessing the condition of the newborn infant at birth and for predicting mortality and morbidity. Apgar scores are generally used for evaluation of preterm infants although their predictive value has been debated.Aim: To investigate whether Apgar scores and the clinical risk index for babies (CRIB) can predict short-term outcome in extremely preterm infants cared for with an active management strategy. Method: Prospectively recorded data in a regional perinatal database were investigated for the time-period 1995-2001 (nϭ 108000 births). Short-term outcome variables included mortality and severe intracranial pathology (IVH grade 3-4 or cystic PVL). Ninety-two liveborn infants, and five stillborn infants, with gestational age 25ϩ0 to 25ϩ6 weeks were identified in the register. Ten infants died within the first week of life, and 10 died later. Among the non-survivors were three infants with congenital malformations. Seventy-two infants were alive at a postnatal age of 180 days, 6 of these infants had IVH grade 3-4 or PVL. Four of the surviving infants were excluded from further analysis due to inappropriate Apgar scores.Results: Apgar scores at 1, 5 and 10 minutes were significantly correlated with survival without severe intracranial pathology (pϭ0.016, 0.003, and 0.003, respectively). The strongest model for predicting survival without severe intracranial pathology was created from 5-minute Apgar scores and the CRIB-score (pϭ0.000). Survival without severe intracranial pathology was higher in single versus multiple births (pϭ0.030), but was not associated with infant gender (pϭ0.407), or mode of delivery (pϭ0.479).Conclusion: Apgar scores, already at 1 minute after birth, are highly predictive of outcome in extremely preterm infants with gestational age 25 weeks. The accuracy of the prediction of outcome increases when the Apgar scores are combined with CRIB-scores. Background: Few follow up studies of Very Low Birthweight (VLBW) children are conducted longitudinally. We have performed repeated follow up examinations of a cohort of VLBW children and their controls. At 9 years of age the VLBW children lagged behind in anthropometric measurements, but also in academic achievements. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the differences noted at 9 years persisted at 15 years of age. GROWTH, MOTOR SKILLS AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN 9 AND 15 YEARS OF AGE IN VERY LOW BIRTHWEIGHT CHILDREN AND CONTROLSMethods: This is a population based study including all surviving VLBW children (nϭ86) born during a 15 month period in 1987 to 1988 within the Southeast region of Sweden and normal birth weight controls (nϭ86). The following assessments and tests were performed: anthropometric measurements, state of puberty, motor skills (Bruininks-Oseretsky test), intellectual ability (Raven's matrices at 9 years, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children; WISC-III at 15 years of age), reading ability and word decoding skills.Results: Three children with cerebr...