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Updated: Jul 29, 2026
19:32
Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol
Published on: February 18, 2012
Developmental care for promoting development and preventing morbidity in preterm infants.
1Hamilton Health Sciences, Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital Neonatal Unit - MUMC 4G, 1200 Main St. West, Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton-Wentworth, Canada, L8N 3Z5. symington@hhsc.ca
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|April 21, 2006
Summary
Developmental care interventions offer limited benefits for preterm infants, showing some improvements in chronic lung disease and family outcomes but also increasing mild lung disease and hospital stay. More consistent evidence is needed to guide practice.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Preterm infants face significant morbidity due to organ immaturity and disease.
- Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environments may exacerbate infant morbidity.
- Developmental care interventions aim to minimize NICU-related stress through environmental modifications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of developmental care interventions in preterm infants.
- To assess impact on neurodevelopmental delay, growth, hospital stay, ventilation, and physiological stress.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English.
- Searches included MEDLINE, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and EMBASE databases.
- Included infants < 37 weeks gestation; assessed clinical outcomes and methodological quality.
Main Results:
- Developmental care showed limited benefits: decreased moderate-severe chronic lung disease, reduced necrotizing enterocolitis, improved family outcomes.
- Conversely, mild lung disease and length of stay increased.
- NIDCAP showed limited long-term behavioral benefits, but no cognitive effects; other interventions had mixed results.
Conclusions:
- Determining the effect of single interventions is challenging due to combined approaches in studies.
- Evidence for consistent benefits of developmental care on major clinical outcomes is limited.
- Further research is needed to demonstrate consistent effects and consider economic impact.
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