Conclusion Current evidence suggests that developmental care in only NICU setting could have significant effect on mental and motor development of preterm infants , especially at 12 months of age .
Background The aim of this study was to review the effects of developmental care in neonatal intensive care unit ( NICU ) setting on mental and motor development of preterm infants .
No change in developmental outcome with incubator covers and nesting for very preterm infants in a randomised controlled trial
Objective : To investigate in a r and omised controlled trial the effect of basic elements of developmental care ( incubator covers and positioning aids ) on growth and neurodevelopment in infants born at < 32 weeks . Method : Infants were r and omised within 48 h of birth to a developmental care ( DC ) or st and ard care ( C ) group . Outcome measures at 1 and 2 years corrected age were growth , st and ardised neurological examinations , and mental ( MDI ) and psychomotor ( PDI ) development ( Dutch version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II ) . Results : 192 infants were recruited ( DC = 98 ; C = 94 ) . Thirteen infants ( DC = 7 , C = 6 ) were excluded because they were admitted for < 5 days or died within the first 5 days . In total , 179 infants met the inclusion criteria .  In-hospital mortality was 12/91 ( 13.2 % ) in the DC group and 8/88 ( 9.1 % ) in the C group . Assessment s were carried out on 147 children ( DC = 74 , C = 73 ) at 1 year and 142 children ( DC = 72 , C = 70 ) at 2 years . No significant difference in growth , neurological outcomes or MDI was found . A positive trend in PDI at 1 year ( p = 0.05 ) did not continue once the children reached 2 years . There was no difference found when neurological and developmental scores were combined . Conclusions : Basic developmental care has no positive effect on neurological and mental development or growth at 1 and 2 years of age in infants born at < 32 weeks . A positive effect on psychomotor development at 1 year did not continue at 2 years of age . Trial registration number : IS RCT N84995192
Conclusion Current evidence suggests that developmental care in only NICU setting could have significant effect on mental and motor development of preterm infants , especially at 12 months of age .
Background The aim of this study was to review the effects of developmental care in neonatal intensive care unit ( NICU ) setting on mental and motor development of preterm infants .