IN RECENT years much has been done to lower the mortality rate of children. Today fewer children die of infection and other preventable disease than in the past. The rate of deaths due to prematurity has remained high, however, and has not kept pace with the general downward trend in infant death rates. Premature birth is now one of the 10 leading causes of death in the general population. 1 The Los Angeles County Hospital (Medical Unit) has a bed capacity of 3,794, not including bassinets, and is thus one of the larger hospitals in this country. There are approximately 8,000 live births in the hospital each year. In a hospital of this size a relatively large premature center has been necessary to care for premature infants born in the hospital and also for those referred to the hospital for care. As the interest in premature care has improved, the
