Neonatal Brazelton and Bayley Performance at 12 and 18 Months of Infants with Intraventricular Hemorrhage

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is the most common brain lesion documented at autopsy in 40% to 50% of preterm infants with birth weights less than 1,500 g (Papile, Burstein, Burstein, & Kofler, 1978). The incidence of IVH remains high in the very low birth weight preterm population because of improved survival rates of infants with increasingly shorter gestations in whom IVH insult can be expected (Shinnar, Molteni, Gammon, D’Souva, Altman, & Freeman, 1982). Ultrasonographic studies conducted within 2 to 10 days of preterm birth can detect IVH in approximately one-third of infants of very low birth weight (less than 1,500 g) (Ahmann, Lazzara, Dykes, Brann, & Schwartz, 1978; Papile et al., 1978).