“…When one remembers that about 45,000 premature babies are born each year in England and Wales, and that about 35 to 40% of theseapproximately 16,000 infants-are in special need of skilled care, the importance of the subject will be apparent. The mortality rate for premature babies is falling quite well PAEDIATRICIAN AND TH E MATERNITY SERVICES (Taylor, 1954), and the following figures illustrate our experience in one of the Liverpool maternity units: during the period 1936-9 (inclusive) there were 679 premature births, and 140 (20%) died in the neonatal period; in the period 1949-52 (inclusive) there were 750 premature births, and 95 (12.7%) died. (It should be noted that the percentage of small-weight bapies was almost identical in the two groups under consideration.)…”