Yet, because their organs are not fully mature, they frequently suffer from problems with the respiratory tract, hearing, retina, and nervous system. Future medical troubles are a certainty. The advance of medical technology has replaced a "decision of God" with a "decision of man." This has extended the lives of many newborns who were not ready to live outside their mothers 'wombs.
然而另一方面，因醫療技術的發達，過去巴掌大、註定夭折的早產兒，卻又能一一存活下來，只是體重低於 1,500 公克的巴掌兒，因身體器官尚未成熟，容易產生呼吸道、聽力、視網膜、神經等多重病變，而「後患無窮」。