Roots of smile: a preterm neonates' study

Kiyobumi Kawakami1, Kiyoko Takai-Kawakami, Fumito Kawakami

  • 1University of the Sacred Heart, 4-3-1, Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8938, Japan. kawakami@u-sacred-heart.ac.jp

Twenty-two preterm neonates were observed 1h per neonate in the NICU. Ninety-five spontaneous smiles were recorded. Younger and smaller neonates showed more and longer spontaneous smiles than older and larger. The youngest neonate was 200 days from conception on the observational day. She was 511 g. This infant showed spontaneous smiles. The roots of spontaneous smiles are discussed.