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Updated: Aug 19, 2025
Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable
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Modeling gross motor developmental curves of extremely and very preterm infants using the AIMS home-video method
I Suir1, M Boonzaaijer2, O Oudgenoeg-Paz3
1Research Group Lifestyle and Health, Research Centre Healthy and Sustainable Living, HU University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Utrecht University, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Insights
Very preterm infants show varied gross motor development, with three distinct profiles identified. While comparable to term infants early on, their development slows after 12 months corrected age.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neonatology
Background:
- Motor development is a key indicator of infant well-being.
- Limited data exists on motor developmental trajectories for very preterm (VPT) infants without severe perinatal complications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore gross motor developmental curves in VPT infants from 3 to 18 months corrected age (CA).
- To identify distinct motor developmental profiles and compare them to term-born infants.
- To investigate factors influencing motor development in VPT infants.
Main Methods:
- A prospective cohort study involving 42 Dutch VPT infants (born ≤32.0 weeks GA and/or <1500g BW).
- Repeated assessments using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) home-video method from 3 to 18 months CA.
- Analysis of 208 assessments to identify motor developmental curves and profiles.
Main Results:
- Sigmoid-shaped gross motor curves demonstrated unidirectional growth with significant variability.
- No infant or parental factors significantly influenced motor development, though trends suggested slower development with lower birth weight, lower Apgar scores, and native-speaking parents.
- Three distinct motor developmental profiles were identified: early, gradual, and late developers. These profiles were comparable to term-born infants until 12 months CA.
Conclusions:
- Very preterm infants exhibit considerable variability in gross motor development, forming three discernible profiles.
- A potential deceleration in motor development is observed in VPT infants after 12 months CA.
- Classifying VPT infants into motor developmental profiles may aid clinical decision-making, albeit with caution.
Background:
Motor development is one of the first signals to identify whether an infant is developing well. For very preterm (VPT) infants without severe perinatal complications, little is known about their motor developmental curves.
Aims:
Explore gross motor developmental curves from 3 until 18 months corrected age (CA) of VPT infants, and related factors. Explore whether separate profiles can be distinguished and compare these to profiles of Dutch term-born infants.
Study Design:
Prospective cohort study with parents repeatedly recording their infant, using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) home-video method, from 3 to 18 months CA.
Subjects:
Forty-two Dutch infants born ≤32.0 weeks gestational age and/or with a birthweight (BW) of <1500 g without severe perinatal complications.
Outcome Measures:
Gross motor development measured with the AIMS.
Results:
In total 208 assessments were analyzed, with 27 infants ≥five assessments, 12 with
Conclusions:
VPT infants show great intra- and interindividual variability in gross motor development, with three motor profiles being distinguished. From 12 months CA onwards, VPT infants appear to develop at a slower pace. With some caution, classifying infants into motor developmental profiles may assist clinical decision-making.
