Effectiveness of individualized developmental care for low-risk preterm infants: behavioral and electrophysiologic evidence

Abstract

Objective: We assessed the effectiveness of individualized developmental support in the special care nursery for low-risk preterm infants.

Setting: A university-affiliated teaching hospital.

Participants: Twelve healthy full-term infants, and 24 low-risk preterm infants randomly assigned to a control or an experimental group.

Design: The preterm control group received standard care and the preterm experimental group received individualized developmental care at the same special care nursery.

Outcome measures: Medical, behavioral (Assessment of Preterm Infants' Behavior and Prechtl's Neurological Examination of the Full-Term Newborn Infant), and electrophysiologic outcome (using quantitative electroencephalography with topographic mapping) of all three groups was assessed 2 weeks after the expected due date.

Results: No between- or among-group medical differences were seen for this low-risk, healthy sample. The preterm experimental group showed behavioral and electrophysiologic performances comparable to those of the full-term group, whereas the preterm control group performed significantly less well. Behavioral measures suggested significantly poorer attentional functioning for the preterm control group. Electrophysiologic results implicated the frontal lobe.

Conclusions: Individualized developmental intervention supports neurobehavioral functioning as measured at 2 weeks post-term. It appears to prevent frontal lobe and attentional difficulties in the newborn period, the possible causes of behavioral and scholastic disabilities often seen in low-risk preterm infants at later ages.