[Behavior of full term infants small for gestational age in the first three months of life]

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Development
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Infant behavior is crucial for assessing neurodevelopmental trajectories.
• Small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants may experience unique developmental challenges.
• Understanding behavioral differences in early infancy is vital for timely interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the behavioral development of full-term small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants with full-term appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) infants.
• To identify specific behavioral differences in the first three months of life.
• To analyze motor quality and attention/arousal factors in SGA versus AGA infants.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II, focusing on the Behavior Rate Scale (BRS).
• Compared 20 full-term SGA infants with 20 full-term AGA infants.
• Evaluated infant behavior across the first, second, and third months of life.

Main Results:

• SGA infants demonstrated significantly lower average scores on the Behavior Rate Scale in the second month.
• The Motor Quality Factor showed lower average values in SGA infants, particularly in gross-motor control and hypertonicity.
• The Attention/Arousal Factor revealed lower average values in SGA infants concerning object exploration and examiner orientation.

Conclusions:

• Full-term SGA infants exhibit specific behavioral differences in early infancy compared to AGA infants.
• Motor control and attention/arousal are key areas where SGA infants show developmental lags.
• These findings highlight the importance of early behavioral assessments for SGA infants.