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Neurobehavioral functioning of healthy preterm infants of varying gestational ages
L E Mouradian1, H Als, W J Coster
1Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Allied Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City 73190, USA. Laurie-Mouradian@ouhsc.edu
Insights
Healthy preterm infants exhibit distinct behavioral differences compared to full-term infants. These differences in behavioral organization, motor, and self-regulatory systems highlight developmental variations in premature newborns.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
Background:
- Limited data exists on the behavioral patterns of healthy premature infants.
- Understanding these behaviors is crucial for assessing infant development and well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the behavioral repertoire of healthy full-term, close to full-term, and preterm infants.
- To identify specific behavioral differences across these gestational age groups.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Assessment of Preterm Infants' Behavior (APIB) in a cross-sectional study.
- Compared 42 healthy newborns: 16 full-term (40 weeks GA), 13 close to full-term (37 weeks GA), and 13 preterm (34 weeks GA).
- Analyzed 29 outcome variables, controlling for four background variables.
Main Results:
- Significant group differences were observed in 12 out of 29 behavioral variables.
- Preterm infants showed significant differences compared to both full-term and close to full-term infants across multiple domains.
- Full-term and close to full-term infants displayed fewer behavioral differences but were still distinct in certain areas.
Conclusions:
- Preterm infants exhibit a measurably different behavioral organization compared to full-term and close to full-term infants.
- Even infants born close to full-term show behavioral distinctions from those born at full-term.
- These findings underscore the nuanced developmental trajectories influenced by gestational age at birth.
Abstract:
Little information is available regarding the behavioral repertoire of healthy, yet prematurely born, infants. To address this problem, the Assessment of Preterm Infants' Behavior (APIB) was used 10 to 14 days after birth in a cross-sectional comparison of 42 healthy newborn infants: 16 full-term infants (gestational age at birth [GA] = 40 weeks), 13 close to full-term infants (GA = 37 weeks), and 13 preterm infants (GA = 34 weeks). Groups differed on four background variables that were used as covariates in subsequent analyses. Significant group differences were found on 12 of 29 outcome variables, including measures of autonomic, motor, state, attention/interaction, and self-regulatory systems, as well as a measure of overall behavioral organization. Pairwise comparison showed that preterm and full-term infants differed on all 12 variables whereas preterm and close to full-term infants differed on 11 of the 12 variables. Furthermore, full-term and close to full-term infants differed on 4 of the 12 variables, including measures of the autonomic, motor, and state systems. Full-term and close to full-term infants were behaviorally more similar to one another than either group was to the preterm infants, yet there were important differences even between full-term and close to full-term infants.