Motor Development Scores for Very Preterm and Very Low-Birth Weight

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported on infants who were born <32 weeks gestation and weighing less than 1500 grams and motor development. A review of the literature indicated that the children scored significantly lower on the Bayley Scales, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency from birth through adolescence. On the Bayley scales, there was a "catch up effect in the first years of development". The Movement Assessment Battery showed a non significant greater deficit with increasing age from elementary school though early adolescence.

Reference: Jorrit F. de Kieviet; Jan P. Piek; Cornelieke S. Aarnoudse-Moens; Jaap Oosterlaan Motor Development in Very Preterm and Very Low-Birth-Weight Children From Birth to Adolescence: A Meta-analysis JAMA. 2009;302(20):2235-2242.