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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
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Published on: August 25, 2014

Medical correlates of infant development

B Littman, A H Parmelee

    Pediatrics
    |March 1, 1978
    PubMed

    Insights

    Medical events during infancy, not prenatal or neonatal periods, significantly correlate with developmental outcomes at age two. This study highlights the importance of monitoring infant health beyond the newborn stage for predicting long-term development.

    Area of Science:

    • Developmental Pediatrics
    • Neonatal Medicine
    • Infant Health Outcomes

    Background:

    • Previous research focused on prenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal factors influencing infant development.
    • The impact of medical events during later infancy on long-term developmental outcomes remains underexplored.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the relationship between medical events during gestational, neonatal, and infancy periods and developmental performance at 2 years of age.
    • To identify critical periods of medical complications that may impact child development.

    Main Methods:

    • Prospective follow-up of 126 preterm infants from birth to 2 years of age.
    • Assessment of medical complications during prenatal, intrapartum, postnatal periods, and the first nine months of life.
    • Utilized four medical scales to evaluate developmental outcomes at 2 years.

    Main Results:

    • No significant correlation was found between obstetric or neonatal events and developmental outcomes at 2 years.
    • Medical events occurring during later infancy (beyond the neonatal period) showed significant correlations with developmental performance at 2 years of age.

    Conclusions:

    • Medical complications in later infancy are more predictive of 2-year developmental outcomes than events during the gestational or neonatal periods.
    • Emphasizes the need for continued medical surveillance throughout infancy to identify potential developmental risks.

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