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Enhanced survival of very premature infants may be regarded as the most striking demonstration of the major improvements in perinatal medicine during the last two decades. This article discusses recent perinatal interventions in the context of the pathogenesis and known risk factors for intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). In addition, controversies related to the evolution and management of posthemorragic hyrdocephalus (PHH) are examined, and current concepts concerning potential brain injury to PHH are reviewed.

This article outlines the approach to clinical evaluation of the hypotonic newborn with suspected neuromuscular disease. Specific conditions that affect primarily the anterior horn cell, peripheral nerve, neuromuscular junction, and skeletal muscle are reviewed in the context of current understanding of the development of the motor system. Thus, it may be speculated that the distinction between myopathies and neuronal disorders is somewhat artificial. The difficult ethical decision regarding long-term mechanical ventilation for severe neonatal neuromuscular disease is discussed briefly.