Indications of improved cognitive development at one year of age among infants born very prematurely who received care based on the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP)

Abstract

Care based on the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) has been reported to exert a positive impact on the development of prematurely born infants. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the effect of such care on the 1-year development of infants born with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks. All surviving infants (11 in the NIDCAP group and 9 in the control group) were assessed employing the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 1 year of corrected age. The Mental Developmental Index (MDI) of children who had received care according to NIDCAP was higher [88 (72-114)] [median (range)] than the corresponding value for the control children [78 (50-82)] (p=0.01). The odds ratio for being alive with an MDI>80 was 14 (95% CI; 1.4-141.5) in favour of the intervention group. However, the Psychomotor Developmental Indices (PDI) were not significantly different [85 (61-108) and 69 (50-114), respectively] (p=0.23). Our findings indicate that care based on the NIDCAP might have a positive impact on the cognitive development of infants born very prematurely.