Catch-up head growth and motor performance in very-low-birthweight infants

The relationship between catch-up head growth and motor performance was examined in 48 very-low-birthweight (< 1,500 g) infants. All infants were nonasphyxiated, normocephalic, and appropriately grown for gestational age at birth. Serial cranial ultrasonography during the first month of life revealed no intracranial pathology. The age of catch-up head growth, defined as the corrected age when the head circumference recovered to the 5th percentile, was determined for each infant. At 12 months corrected age, the infants were evaluated and grouped according to normal (n = 37) or abnormal (n = 11) motor assessments. The abnormal group achieved catch-up head growth by 7.7 +/- 2.1 months vs 3.7 +/- 3.1 months for the normal group (P < .05). Only 27% of the motor-delayed infants achieved catch-up head growth by 6 months corrected age, as compared with 89% of the normal infants (P < .05). Premature infants who have achieved catch-up head growth by 6 months corrected age, corresponding to the period of maximal postnatal brain growth, have fewer motor abnormalities than infants who attain catch-up head growth later. There is a significant relationship between head circumference at 6 months corrected age and motor development in very-low-birthweight infants.