As for endogenous EPO, high endogenous EPO concentration in blood during the first postnatal days has been associated with neonatal morbidity in extremely preterm infants11 and with neonatal encephalopathy, abnormal MRI and mortality in term infants exposed to perinatal asphyxia.12 Minimal data exist on the association between endogenous EPO levels at birth and long-term neurodevelopmental morbidity in children. This evidence concerns the gene EPO and neonatal encephalopathy.