Early developmental intervention for infants with birth asphyxia

Abstract

This randomized controlled trial sought to determine if early, in-home, developmental intervention improves the neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants who received resuscitation at birth. In this Herculean effort, the investigators coordinated every-other-week home visits for nearly 300 babies born in India, Pakistan, and Zambia for the first 3 years of life. To assess the impact of this intervention, 36-month developmental testing was performed on four groups of infants: (1) control infants receiving every-other-week health and safety counseling; (2) those who were resuscitated and received every-other-week health and safety counseling; (3) those who did not need resuscitation and received early developmental intervention; and (4) those who were resuscitated and received early developmental intervention. Early developmental intervention improved 36-month Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) scores regardless of the need for resuscitation. Importantly, however, all groups had MDI and PDI mean scores within the normal range. This work demonstrates that infants benefit from early developmental interventions; identifying which babies may benefit the most remains an intriguing question. Article page 705▶ Randomized Trial of Early Developmental Intervention on Outcomes in Children after Birth Asphyxia in Developing CountriesThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 162Issue 4PreviewTo determine if early developmental intervention (EDI) improves developmental abilities in resuscitated children. Full-Text PDF