Influence of perinatal complications on the development of a sample of 36-month-old premature infants

Objective: The lack of clear results in previous studies for this context makes us consider an exploratory study. The objective of this research is to examine the influence of certain perinatal factors on the development of premature infants over their first 36 months of life. Method: The sample con...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: López Hernández, Ángela María, Padilla Muñoz, Eva María, Duque Sánchez, Cristina, Lanzarote Fernández, María Dolores
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repository:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/168390
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/168390
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101507
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Prematurity
Perinatal complications
Development
Gender
Bayley III
Gestational age
Description
Summary:Objective: The lack of clear results in previous studies for this context makes us consider an exploratory study. The objective of this research is to examine the influence of certain perinatal factors on the development of premature infants over their first 36 months of life. Method: The sample consisted of 59 preterm infants born between 25 and 34 weeks of gestational age in an NICU of a third-level hospital. At 36 months of age, the Bayley-III Infant Development Scale (Spanish adaptation) and a clinical history were collected. Results: The average scores on the Bayley-III Infant Development Scale were generally within the normal range, but significantly lower than normal for Fine Motor Function, Gross Motor Function, and Expressive Language. These differences remained when considering the degree of prematurity, gender, and perinatal complications. Infants who received mechanical ventilation, oxygen therapy or corticosteroid treatment due to bronchopulmonary dysplasia showed the greatest discrepancies from normal levels. Conclusion: Our results support prior studies that show that a combination of perinatal risk factors constitutes the largest determinant for developmental issues at 36 months of age. This information establishes the need for a priority follow-up in this population beyond 24 months of corrected age.