Premature infants with birth weights of 1500-1999 g exhibit considerable delays in several developmental areas.

Aim: To establish the prevalence and factors associated with developmental scores and delays in premature infants.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 premature infants with corrected ages of 18-24 months (actual ages 19.9 ± 2.0 months) and birth weights of 1500-1999 g. Bayley III scales were used to assess developmental scores, percentage of children with developmental scores <85, factors associated with developmental scores and delays in at least one developmental domain.

Results: The percentages and 95% confidence intervals of those children with developmental delays were as follows: cognitive (2.0%; 0.6-7.0%), language (5.0%; 2.2-11.2%), motor (3.0%; 1.0-8.5%), socio-emotional (13.0%; 7.8-20.1%), general adaptive (26.0%; 18.4-35.4%), conceptual (17.0%; 10.9-25.6%), social (46.0%; 36.6-55.7%) and practical (21.0%; 14.2-30.0%). Factors associated with delay in at least one developmental domain were as follows: caesarean delivery, low per capita income and peri-intraventricular haemorrhage. Factors associated with a reduction in developmental scores were as follows: non-white ethnicity, lower social class, caesarean delivery, male gender, peri-intraventricular haemorrhage, mechanical ventilation and length of hospitalisation.

Conclusion: Premature infants with birth weights of 1500-1999 g exhibited considerable delays in several developmental areas. In addition to biological factors, environmental factors contributed to the reduced scores and/or developmental delays.