Early psychomotor therapy in very preterm infants does not improve Bayley-III scales at 2 years

Area of Science:

• Neonatal developmental pediatrics
• Pediatric physical therapy
• Infant neurodevelopment

Background:

• Very preterm infants (<30 weeks gestation) face developmental challenges.
• Early intervention is crucial for optimizing motor outcomes.
• Psychomotor therapy aims to enhance infant development and prevent motor disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of post-hospital psychomotor therapy for very preterm infants.
• To assess developmental progress at 9 and 24 months corrected age.
• To determine the long-term impact of early intervention on neurodevelopment.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial involving preterm infants (<30 weeks gestation).
• Intervention group received 20 post-hospital psychomotor therapy sessions.
• Development assessed using the Bayley Scale of Infant Development at 9 and 24 months.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in developmental scores at 24 months between groups.
• Short-term improvements in global and fine motricity observed at 9 months.
• Improvements at 9 months were more pronounced in infants of educationally underserved mothers.

Conclusions:

• The benefits of post-hospital psychomotor therapy were transient and did not persist beyond the intervention period.
• The study highlights the need for continued research into effective interventions for preterm infants.
• Findings support the development of multi-professional care models for optimizing infant neurodevelopment.