The Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale was administered to 44 infants (11 preterms; 12 full terms in intensive care; 8 healthy full terms, with prolonged hospitalization as a function of maternal illness; and 13 healthy control infants). Performance on interactive and motoric processes was poorer for the two groups of infants with perinatal illness (i.e., preterms and full terms in intensive care). Performance on state organization was poorer for the three groups with prolonged hospitalization (i.e., preterm, sick full term in intensive care, and healthy full term with sick mothers). A possible interpretation of these data is that behavioral problems commonly observed in preterm infants may be attributed more to illness and other factors related to illness than to prematurity per se.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.