What are the long term consequences of premature birth?

It depends...: Long-term health and developmental outcome in babies born prematurely vary according to how premature the baby was, and what their nicu course was like. Premies are at risk for visual, hearing problems and learning problems, and may not grow as well as term babies. They may reach developmental milestones later, and there's a chance they could develop cerebral palsy. Many do quite well, however.

Varies a great deal: Preemies come in all shapes and sizes, with no two being alike. Most of the mildly premature babies, born at 34-37 weeks gestation, are just like full term babies after the first 18-24 months of life. Babies born with under 34 weeks of gestation are more likely to have some delays (the shorter the gestation, the more likely there will be problems), but even these babies can be lucky and do well.