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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
General Movements Assessment in Infants with High Birth Weight
S Zeynep Kaşka1, Gülsen Sırtbaş Işık1, H Tolga Çelik2
1Developmental and Early Physiotherapy Unit, Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkiye.
Insights
Infants with high birth weight (HBW) show reduced motor repertoire and abnormal movements compared to normal birth weight infants. Early intervention is recommended for affected infants to support development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neuroscience
- Movement Science
Background:
- High birth weight (HBW) infants are at increased risk for neurological and developmental issues.
- Limited research has explored spontaneous movement quality in HBW infants.
- This study addresses the gap by examining early movements in HBW infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize age-specific spontaneous movements in high birth weight infants.
- To compare the detailed early spontaneous movements of high birth weight infants with normal birth weight infants.
Main Methods:
- Utilized General Movement Assessment on video recordings of 22 HBW and 22 normal birth weight (NBW) infants.
- Assessed infants aged 10-19 weeks post-term.
- Employed the Motor Optimality Score for three- to five-month-old infants-Revised (MOS-R) for evaluation.
Main Results:
- Infants with HBW exhibited significantly lower MOS-R scores, observed postural patterns, and age-adequate movement repertoire compared to NBW infants.
- A higher incidence of aberrant fidgety movements was observed in HBW infants (18%) versus NBW infants (0%).
Conclusions:
- The motor repertoire of high birth weight infants tends to be less developed than that of normal birth weight infants.
- Findings highlight potential subtle neurological differences in HBW infants.
- Referral to age-appropriate early intervention programs is crucial for monitoring and supporting progression in at-risk infants.
Background:
High birth weight (HBW) describes fetal birth weight of more than 4000 g. Infants with HBW have a high risk of developing neurological and developmental problems. Until recently, there were no studies in the literature that investigated the quality of spontaneous movements and the integrity of the developing nervous system in infants with HBW. The aims of this study were (1) to describe age-specific detailed early spontaneous movements in infants with HBW and (2) to compare the detailed early spontaneous movements of infants with HBW and normal birth weight (NBW).
Methods:
Twenty-two infants with HBW (median birth weight = 4190 g) and 22 infants with NBW (median birth weight = 3255 g) were included at 10 to 19 weeks post-term age (median = 13 weeks). All infants were assessed according to General Movement Assessment using three- to five-minute video recordings. Video recordings of each infant were evaluated using Motor Optimality Score for three- to five-month-old infants-Revised score sheet.
Results:
Motor Optimality Score-Revised (MOS-R) (P < 0.001), observed postural patterns (P < 0.001), and age-adequate movement repertoire (P = 0.005) were significantly lower in the infants with HBW. Infants with HBW had more aberrant (abnormal or absent) fidgety movements (18%) than those with NBW (0%).
Conclusions:
The results of this study demonstrated that the motor repertoire of infants with HBW tended to decrease more than that of those with NBW. To enable the follow-up of progression as a result of these assessments infants in need should be referred to age-adequate early intervention programs.
