Abstract
The aims of this study were to investigate in infants of adolescent and adult mothers: (1) the risk factors for child development; (2) changes in cognitive and motor development over four months of follow-up, (3) correlation between cognitive and motor development over four months of follow-up. This is a longitudinal study with 40 infants, 20 infants of adolescent mothers and 20 of adult mothers from Porto Alegre and Butia, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Three evaluations of motor and cognitive development were performed using the Alberta Motor Infant Scale (AIMS) and the Bayley Scale Infant Development II. Significant difference in the supine position of AIMS was observed between groups in the third evaluation. Infants of adolescent mothers showed lower scores than those of adult mothers. The motor scores of each position and total AIMS score showed significant difference during overall time and in each group. The Bayley-II mental score also showed significant difference during overall time and in each group. There was a positive, strong and significant association between AIMS and Bayley scores in all three evaluation stages as in the group of infants of adolescent and adult mothers. It was concluded that infants of adolescent mothers showed worse results in the supine position during the third evaluation than those of adult mothers. There was a significant association between motor and cognitive development in both groups of infants over time.
Highlights
The greatest risks for adolescent mothers and their babies are the result of maternal biological immaturity, and of environmental factors such as low parental education and the poverty situation in which most of them are inserted[1,2]
This study aimed to investigate in infants of adolescent and adult mothers: (1) the risk factors for child development; (2) changes in cognitive and motor development over four months of follow-up, (3) correlation between cognitive and motor development over four months of follow-up
The fact that adolescent mothers had lower educational level and lower income confirm the socioeconomic vulnerability of this population
Summary
The greatest risks for adolescent mothers and their babies are the result of maternal biological immaturity, and of environmental factors such as low parental education and the poverty situation in which most of them are inserted[1,2]. Despite all vulnerability situation, when there is an effective social support structure, adolescent mothers are more likely to adapt and learn to face motherhood in a more positive and safe way[3], which can promote child development. The multifactorial nature of child development indicates the importance of providing continuous monitoring, especially for more vulnerable populations[5], in which longitudinal follow-up is considered the most appropriate way to detect development problems[6]. When considered vulnerable for being exposed to risk factors for developmental delay, the infant can resist the negative effects of this exposure if delays are early detected. Detection enables interventional practices that when established in periods of high neural plasticity, lead to motor and cognitive behavioral gains[7]
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