Evolution of psychomotor development in pre-school children born prematurely.

Introduction: The rate of premature births has significantly increased, and it is important to determine its effects. The objective of this study is to determine the psychomotor development profile of a group of children born prematurely, at the age of 4, 5 and 6, and to compare them with a group of full-term birth children, in order to detect any differences.

Patients And Methods: The sample consisted of 98 participants, evenly distributed into two groups, premature and full-term born children. A prospective longitudinal observational analytical study, with a design of cases and controls, was carried out. For some analyses, the separation into early pre-term, moderate pre-term, and late pre-term was considered. The evaluations were performed using the McCarthy Scale of Aptitudes and Psychomotor skills for children.

Results: The data show achievements within the middle intervals. However, there are more difficulties in development at 4 years in the group of premature children, according to gestational age. Early pre-term (gestational age less than 32 weeks) showed significantly lower scores compared to moderate and late pre-term, mainly at 6 years, and with those born at term, at 4 and 6 years.

Conclusions: Development difficulties are greater at a lower gestational age, and may affect the Primary Education stage. The need to monitor all premature children in the preschool stage is suggested, as well as to evaluate more specific skills and continue with the care from specialist teams.