Early neurodevelopmental follow-up in the NICHD neonatal research network: Advancing neonatal care and outcomes, opportunities for the future.

At the inception of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development Neonatal Research Network (NRN), provision of care for extremely preterm (EPT) infants was considered experimental. The NRN Follow-up Study Group, initiated in 1993, developed infrastructure with certification processes and standards, allowing the NRN to assess 2-year outcomes for EPT and to provide important metrics for randomized clinical trials. This chapter will review the NRN Follow-up Study Group's contributions to understanding factors related to improved neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes of EPT infants.