premature infants are more susceptible to motor development , behavior and academic performance impairment when compared to term infants .
OBJECTIVES to examine and synthesize the available knowledge in the literature about the effects of preterm birth on the development of school-age children .
Long-term cognition, achievement, socioemotional, and behavioral development of healthy late-preterm infants.
OBJECTIVE To compare healthy late-preterm infants with their full-term counterparts from age 4 through 15 years for numerous st and ard cognitive , achievement , socioemotional , and behavioral outcomes . DESIGN Prospect i ve cohort study . SETTING National Institute of Child Health and Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development , 1991 - 2007 . PARTICIPANTS A total of 1298 children ( 53 born at 34 - 36 weeks ' gestational age ) , and their families , observed from birth through age 15 years . None of the infants had major health problems before or immediately following birth , and all the infants were discharged from the hospital within 7 days . MAIN EXPOSURE Preterm status : children born late preterm ( 34 - 36 weeks ) vs those born full term ( 37 - 41 weeks ) . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Eleven st and ard outcomes measuring cognition , achievement , social skills , and behavioral/emotional problems using the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised and the Child Behavior Checklist , administered repeatedly through age 15 years . RESULTS No consistent significant differences were found between late-preterm and full-term children for these st and ard measures from ages 4 to 15 years . Through age 15 years , the mean difference of most of these outcomes hovered around 0 , indicating , along with small confidence intervals around these differences , that it is unlikely that healthy late-preterm infants are at any meaningful disadvantage regarding these measures . CONCLUSION Late-preterm infants born otherwise healthy seem to have no real burdens regarding cognition , achievement , behavior , and socioemotional development throughout childhood
premature infants are more susceptible to motor development , behavior and academic performance impairment when compared to term infants .
OBJECTIVES to examine and synthesize the available knowledge in the literature about the effects of preterm birth on the development of school-age children .