Spontaneous Touches in Preterm and Term Infants
Author Information
Author(s): Stupperich Sophie, Dathe Anne-Kathrin, DiMercurio Abigail, Connell John P., Baumann Nicole, Jover Marianne, Corbetta Daniela, Jaekel Julia, Felderhoff-Mueser Ursula, Huening Britta
Primary Institution: University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Hypothesis
Low-risk very preterm infants should show a lower quantity of overall spontaneous touches to their body and surface than healthy term infants.
Conclusion
Low-risk very preterm infants produce fewer spontaneous touches than healthy term infants at three months of corrected age.
Supporting Evidence
- Very preterm infants showed significantly fewer overall touches per minute than healthy term infants.
- The mean number of touches to body and surface was lower for very preterm infants compared to healthy term infants.
- Healthy term infants produced up to 200 spontaneous touches in 10 minutes, while very preterm infants produced fewer.
Takeaway
Very preterm babies touch themselves and their surroundings less than healthy term babies, which might affect their development.
Methodology
Videos of 25 low-risk very preterm infants and 5 healthy term infants were recorded and analyzed for spontaneous touches.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to differences in recording setups and camera angles.
Limitations
The sample size for healthy term infants was small, and video recording conditions differed between groups.
Participant Demographics
25 very preterm infants (15 female, 10 male) and 5 healthy term infants (3 male, 2 female).
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.029
Confidence Interval
[0.00, 6.84]
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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