Previous growth curves for premature infants were based on a 1948 study of 100 infants. More recent reports described growth rates for VLBW infants exceeded those predicted by the previous study. The authors suggested that the differences may reflect changes in nutritional management and cautioned that the observed growth rates may not be optimal. Although a greater number of extremely low birth weight infants were included in these studies, data for infants with birth weights <750 g was still limited.