The later growth of children who were preterm and small for gestational age.

The four-year-old growth status of 56 preterm, 35 small for gestational age, and 111 randomly selected appropriate weight for gestational age children who were born at the Queen Mary Hospital (Dunedin) in 1968, is described. Children who were preterm but were greater than 2500g at birth were significantly heavier, taller and had larger head circumference measures than the control group. Preterm children who had weighed less than 2500g at birth were significantly lighter than the controls. Children who were smaller for gestational age were significantly shorter and lighter than the control group. Other results were reported on relationships between gestational age and birth weight and the later growth status of children, and some implications were discussed.