[Individualized developmental care and family-centered care for premature infants]

Individualised developmental care has gradually become an international standard in neonatology over the last two decades. It is particularly useful in the case of very premature babies, as it makes it possible to humanise and personalise the care given to each infant, as well as providing support for their families. Individualised developmental care represents a revolution in the way care is provided, the environment in which it is carried out, and parental involvement. Parents are no longer visitors, but care partners.Changing a team's practices towards individualized developmental care requires structured training and support for professionals. In particular, they need to learn how to analyse the child's behavior correctly (observation), to deduce the best time and the best way to intervene with each child according to his own abilities and needs. Professionals must provide parental guidance, from birth through discharge home.Individualized developmental care helps to reduce the impact of prematurity on the immediate postnatal health and long-term development of premature babies, as well as on the parent-child relationship and the parents' well-being. They help to reduce the complications associated with extreme prematurity and the lengthy hospitalization required to manage it.