Neurological Assessment of Gestational Age in Low Birth Weight Infants

One hundred newborn infants of low birth weight were examined neurologically in the neonatal period to determine their gestational age. Comparison of this assessed gestational age with the maternal menstrual history, in the 80 cases in which this was known accurately, showed a good correlation, particularly if neurological assessment was deferred until the infant was 5 days old. It is suggested that neurological examination is a useful method of assessing gestational age when the mother's menstrual dates are in doubt.