It has now been well documented that premature infants are at significant risk for neurodevelopmental
disabilities.1,2 Studies in this area have typically focused on the motor and cognitive sequelae of prematurity,
paying less attention to temperament, behaviour, and emotional disturbances. Recent data suggest that
premature infants are also vulnerable to abnormalities in behavioural and social development, which may be
the precursors of subsequent learning disabilities and psychiatric disorders which occur during mid-childhood.