Family-Centered Care Enhanced Neonatal Neurophysiological Function in Preterm Infants: Randomized Controlled Trial
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Updated: Jan 19, 2026
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Published on: January 7, 2020
Yen-Ting Yu1, Wan-Chi Huang2, Wu-Shiun Hsieh3
1Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; and Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Insights
Family-centered intervention improved neurophysiological function in preterm infants with very low birth weight. This approach supports early brain development and offers short-term benefits for these vulnerable infants.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neonatology
Background:
- Family-centered interventions (FCIP) show developmental benefits for preterm infants.
- Neurological effects of FCIP are not well-documented.
- Preterm infants, especially those with very low birth weight (VLBW), require specialized neurodevelopmental support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of a family-centered intervention program (FCIP) on neurophysiological functions in very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants.
- To compare FCIP with usual care (UCP) in Taiwan.
- To explore FCIP-induced changes in neurobehavioral and neurophysiological outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A multicenter, single-blind randomized controlled trial involving 251 VLBW preterm infants in Taiwan.
- Intervention group received FCIP; control group received UCP during hospitalization.
- Neurophysiological function assessed via EEG/event-related potentials during sleep and auditory oddball task; neurobehavioral performance measured using Neonatal Neurobehavioral Examination-Chinese version.
Main Results:
- FCIP enhanced neurophysiological maturation compared to UCP.
- Specific findings include increased mismatch negativity amplitudes and altered interhemispheric coherence during sleep.
- Positive association found between interhemispheric coherence and neurobehavioral scores in appropriate-for-gestational-age infants.
Conclusions:
- Family-centered intervention promotes short-term neurophysiological maturation in VLBW preterm infants.
- FCIP may be a valuable strategy for supporting early brain development in this population.
- Parental adherence strategies may contribute to the observed intervention effects.
Background:
Family-centered intervention for preterm infants has shown short- to medium-term developmental benefits; however, the neurological effects of intervention have rarely been explored.
Objective:
The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of a family-centered intervention program (FCIP) on neurophysiological functions in preterm infants with very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight of < 1500 g) in Taiwan, to compare the effect of the FCIP with that of a usual-care program (UCP), and to explore the FCIP-induced changes in neurobehavioral and neurophysiological functions.
Design:
This was a multicenter, single-blind randomized controlled trial.
Setting:
The study took place in 3 medical centers in northern and southern Taiwan.
Participants:
Two hundred fifty-one preterm infants with VLBW were included.
Intervention:
The FCIP group received a family-centered intervention and the UCP group received standard care during hospitalization.
Measurements:
Infants were assessed in terms of neurobehavioral performance using the Neonatal Neurobehavioral Examination-Chinese version, and their neurophysiological function was assessed using electroencephalography/event-related potentials during sleep and during an auditory oddball task during the neonatal period.
Results:
The FCIP promoted more mature neurophysiological function than the UCP, including greater negative mean amplitudes of mismatch negativities in the left frontal region in the oddball task in all infants, lower intrahemispheric prefrontal-central coherence during sleep in infants who were small for gestational age, and higher interhemispheric frontal coherence during sleep in those who were appropriate for gestational age. Furthermore, interhemispheric coherence was positively associated with the total neurobehavioral score in preterm infants who were appropriate for gestational age (r = 0.20).
Limitations:
The fact that more parental adherence strategies were used in the FCIP group than in the UCP group might have favored the intervention effect in this study.
Conclusions:
Family-centered intervention facilitates short-term neurophysiological maturation in preterm infants with VLBW in Taiwan.
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