Abstract
The aim of the present study was to assess the very early neurobehavioral development of preterm infants and to examine differences regarding sex. Two-hundred and two preterm infants were assessed by the Neurobehavioral Assessment of the Preterm Infant (NAPI), which was carried out at 32-37 weeks post-conceptional age in the hospital setting. The infants' performance was compared to a norm-referenced sample and a comparison between groups regarding sex was also done. In comparison to the NAPI norm-reference, the preterm infants showed less muscular tonicity on the scarf sign, less vigor and spontaneous movement, higher alertness and orientation, weaker cry, and more sleep state. There was no statistical difference between males and females preterm infants at NAPI performances.
Highlights
The aim of the present study was to assess the very early neurobehavioral development of preterm infants and to examine differences regarding sex
In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), these infants are constantly challenged by a set of stressful stimuli, including noise, light, pain, and excessive handling, which are all inherent in intensive care treatment (Grunau, Holsti, & Peters, 2006; Newnham, Inder, & Milgrom, 2009)
The results showed an agreement of 88% in application of the Neurobehavioral Assessment of the Preterm Infant (NAPI) scoring system
Summary
The aim of the present study was to assess the very early neurobehavioral development of preterm infants and to examine differences regarding sex. There are several clinical assessments aimed at evaluating the health status of the infants within the first postnatal hours such as the Apgar score, Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB; Cockburn et al, 1993), Neonatal Medical Index (Korner et al, 1994) and Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology (SNAPP II; Gray, Richardson, & McCormick, 1992). These validated measurements have been used in the prediction of health status of preterm infants and have been proposed to aid in approximating the morbidity and mortality rates of this vulnerable population.
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