As noted earlier, efforts to improve care of
preterm and other high-risk infants have resulted in
decreased mortality and improved long-term outcome.
Despite these advances, however, follow-up
studies continue to demonstrate significant risk for
physiologic, cognitive, and neuromotor sequelae in
preterm infants, especially VLBW infants. Although
developmental outcomes of preterm have
improved, decreases in mortality have far exceeded
decreases in morbidity (Bregman & Kimberlin,
1993; Hack, 1993; Hack et al., 1995; Paneth, 1995).
In an attempt to further improve outcomes, attention
has been directed toward the NICU environment.