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Other content tagged: neurodevelopment

Predicting the neurodevelopment of preterm born children: Is a low Apgar score associated with impaired development?

The Apgar score is a tool to quickly evaluate a newborn’s health status right after birth. It helps healthcare professionals to quickly make treatment decicions for the infant only minutes after birth.  It is an important tool for determining neonatal health because a low Apgar score is associated with higher mortality and morbidity. A study conducted by the EPICE-SHIPS research group examined nearly 1,000 preterm born children at age five to find out…
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Child growth and neurodevelopment following an antenatal lifestyle intervention in routine care

Having overweight or obesity in childhood increases the risk of being overweight or obese in adulthood and is accompanied by an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer. In addition, neurological developmental disorders are more frequent in children with overweight. Maternal factors during pregnancy are discussed to have an impact on anthropometry and neurological development of children. If and to which extent a healthy maternal lifestyle during pregnancy is…
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Neurodevelopmental follow-up of children born preterm

The prospective, longitudinal cohort study examined the rate and stability of impairments in children born preterm (<32 weeks gestation). Neurological, motor, cognitive, and behavioural outcomes were assessed at 2 and 10 years of age. It was found that with increasing age, more children experienced a moderate-severe impairment in the neurological, motor, cognitive and/or behavioural domain. Children with a moderate-severe impairment in any domain at 2 years of age were likely to experience persisting…
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Health-related quality of life following extremely preterm birth

The EPICure study analysed the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) in 129 adults born extremely preterm in the UK and Ireland in comparison to adults born at term. It was found that participants born with impairment had the lowest scores for HRQL, followed by those born extremely preterm without impairment, with cognition being the most affected domain. Interestingly, parent-reported HRQL tended to be lower than the self-reported reality. Since 1990, thanks to advances in…
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Increasing Early Skin-to-Skin in Extremely Low Birthweight Infants

Although the benefits of skin-to-skin care (SSC) for preterm and low birthweight infants are known to the neonatal community, some health centres still struggle with implementation. To increase SSC within the first 72 hours of life among extremely low birthweight (ELBW) infants, a multidimensional approach was chosen at a Level IV university-based regional intensive care nursery (ICN). SSC has many benefits for mothers and infants, especially those born preterm. Previous studies showed that in…
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Both preterm and post-term birth increases risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

The causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are complex and remain unclear. A recent study, involving more than 3.5 million children, now shows that the risk of ASD may slightly increase for each week a baby is born before or after 40 weeks of gestation. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, affecting 1% to 2% of children worldwide. Children with this disease cannot initialize or take part in social communication and have repetitive behaviours. The reasons may be…
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