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Early developmental support for preterm infants based on exploratory behaviors: A parallel randomized controlled
Turgay Altunalan1,2,3, Zübeyir Sarı2, Tuba Derya Doğan3,4
1Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Science, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey.
Insights
The Explorer Baby program shows promise for improving cognitive and language skills in preterm infants. While not statistically significant compared to neurodevelopmental therapy, it offers a safe and effective early intervention option.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development
- Early intervention strategies
- Developmental pediatrics
Background:
- Preterm infants face high risks for developmental disabilities.
- Mothers of preterm infants experience elevated stress levels.
- Early intervention programs are crucial for mitigating adverse outcomes in preterm infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of the novel Explorer Baby early intervention program for preterm infant development.
- To assess the impact of the Explorer Baby program on maternal stress levels.
- To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of Explorer Baby versus neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT).
Main Methods:
- A randomized clinical trial involving preterm infants (38 weeks-6 months corrected age) at low risk for cerebral palsy.
- Infants were randomly assigned to either the Explorer Baby group or an active control neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) group.
- Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (Bayley III) was used for primary outcome assessment pre-, during-, and post-intervention.
Main Results:
- No significant between-group differences were observed in primary or secondary outcomes.
- The Explorer Baby group showed significant within-group improvements in cognitive and language skills.
- The NDT group demonstrated significant within-group improvements in parent-child dysfunctional interaction.
Conclusions:
- The Explorer Baby program may be a preferred choice for supporting preterm infants without brain injury, demonstrating enhanced skill acquisition.
- Both Explorer Baby and NDT are safe early intervention methods for preterm infants.
- Neither intervention negatively impacted mothers' overall stress levels.
Introduction:
Preterm infants are at high risk for developmental disabilities, and their parents are at increased risk for high stress. Early intervention programs are applied to reduce these adverse outcomes. The primary aim is to compare the efficacy of the novel Explorer Baby early intervention program for the holistic development of preterm infants. The second objective was to compare the stress levels of their mothers.
Methods:
Randomized clinical trial with 38 weeks-6 months corrected age preterm infants at low risk for cerebral palsy, randomly assigned to experimental (Explorer Baby) or active control neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) groups. Fifty-seven infants were enrolled in the study, and 51 (26 Explorer Baby, 25 NDT) completed it. Bayley III was used as a primary outcome before, during, and after the intervention.
Results:
When we compared the changes between the groups before and after therapy, no significant differences were found in any of the primary or secondary outcomes (between-group comparisons). When comparing the changes in both groups before and after therapy (in-group comparison), the Explorer Baby group demonstrated significant improvements in cognitive (Hedges' g = .83) and explorative language skills (Hedges' g = .65), whereas the NDT group showed improved parent-child dysfunctional interaction (Hedges' g = 2.66) between T0-T1 and T0-T2.
Conclusions:
The Explorer Baby early intervention program may be a preferred option to support premature infants without brain injury, as it shows greater skill acquisition than NDT, although not statistically significant. Both methods are safe as they support premature babies without negatively affecting mothers' overall stress levels.
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