Outcomes in Young Adulthood for Very-Low-Birth-Weight-Infants

Conley, D. & Bennett, N.
(Letter) New England Journal of Medicine. 2002, Vol. 347(2), pp. 141.

To the Editor: Hack et al. (Jan. 17 issue)1 report that 20-year-olds who had very low birth weight have a lower rate of risk-taking behavior than their normal-birth-weight peers, and the authors describe this finding as "reassuring." McCormick and Richardson, in their editorial,2 suggest that the avoidance of risk-taking behavior indicates a special "resilience" in very-low-birth-weight children and their families. I disagree.