The importance of care and of attention to the minutest details of the treatment has already been mentioned. Too much stress cannot be laid upon it. A drop in the temperature should always be regarded as a sign of danger, even if all other conditions seem favorable. Premature infants that are apparently doing well in other ways often go many weeks without any gain in weight. This is not a cause for discouragement, because during this time they are almost always gaining steadily in development and approaching the status of the normal full-term infant.
Premature babies are very apt to die suddenly without any apparent cause.
It is never safe to consider them out of danger until they are thriving under normal conditions. Up to this time the prognosis should always be guarded. If they survive, they become as vigorous and as large adults as do full-term babies.