American babies have a one in eight chance of being born prematurely.
Preemies who survive can face a lifetime of disabilities.
More than half of babies born before 32 weeks suffer brain development problems.
But now, a new discovery could help doctors know which babies will have trouble.
Doctor Terrie Inder found MRI scans can predict future developmental delays.
For example, this scan shows a healthy infant brain.
One shows missing white matter, a sign of significant cognitive and motor problems. Dr. Inder says, "Instead of just knowing there's a bit of a risk, we can be much more definite and say there's either very, very low risk or actually very high risk."
Right now, only babies born more than ten weeks early qualify for extensive therapies.
For these twins, the MRI paid off.
MRI's Predict Developmental Delays In Preemies