The Nation - News from Aug. 15, 1985

Bright lights in hospital nurseries may damage the eyes of premature babies and contribute to blindness and other vision problems that are a hazard for tiny newborns, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded. The study, conducted in intensive care nurseries at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center and Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, found that the smallest premature babies suffer considerably less eye damage when they are shielded from round-the-clock nursery lights, which are often two to four times brighter than office lighting.