Relations of Bayley Developmental Index Score at 12 Months with Physiological and Environmental Characteristics of Prematurely Born Infants

Purpose: During recent decade, the proportion of premature infants has been increased. Researches supported that premature infants had later developmental problems, but little is known about how strongly physiological and environmental factors affect premature’s development. The purpose of this study was to explore the relations of the developmental state of premature infants at 12 months with physiological and environmental characteristics of them.

Methods: This study is a descriptive longitudinal correlation study. The participants were 45 premature infants who were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit in one university hospital in South Korea. Follow-up study was done at their corrected age was 12months. The physiological characteristics of infants were investigated through the medical record and revised Neuro-biologic Risk Score (NRBS) at the time of discharge. Also, environmental characteristics including Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale(EPDS), husband’s support, social support, and mother’s attachment were obtained through mothers’ self report questionnaires at 12 months. The mental and psychomotor developmental states of infants were evaluated with Bayley Scales of Infant Development by researchers. Data was analyzed with SPSS 21 program using frequency and Pearson's correlation.

Results: Approximately 13% of the infants belonged to delayed state for mental development, and 40% of infants were categorized as delayed state for psychomotor development. The psychomotor developmental index showed significant correlations with revised NBRS (r=-.378, p=.010) and HOME (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment) score (r=.384, p=.010). Mental development of Bayley scale showed no significant relationships with any physiological or environmental factors.

Conclusion: Approximately 40% of premature infants belong to at-risk/delayed state for psychomotor development at 12month corrected age. Therefore, follow-up cares for prematurely born infants are required. Also, for improving the psychomotor development of prematures, physiological characteristics as well as envionmental characteristics of prematures need to be considered for discharge plan. Also, various interventions to support proper parenting environments need to be provided at the community level for premature infants’ development.