Bringing home a baby is a huge milestone, especially those who are pre-mature and it can often bring forth questions and concerns about growth, movement, and development. I’m here to discuss what this means from a gross motor perspective as a pediatric physical therapist and go into most recent research on this topic.
Who is considered premature?
Babies who are born prior to 37 weeks of gestation (time spent in the womb) are considered pre-mature. For these littles, using chronological age can make a baby appear delayed in milestones when they are actually developing appropriate for their neurological maturity. Adjusted age is used to better assess their milestones on a more accurate timeline. This is typically calculated by the age of the baby minus the number of weeks or months they were born early. This adjusted age is typically used until 2 years old.
What the Research Studied
A study followed 78 premature babies (born between 34-36 weeks), looking into two main questions:
- How do motor skills develop in premature babies the first 9 months of life?
- Can early physical therapy reduce motor delays and help babies get closer to milestones based on chronological age?
What the Study Found
1. Premature Babies Often Start With a Motor Gap
At 1-3 months of age, many babies had gross motor skills expected of adjusted age.
2. Motor Skills Improved Over Time
By 6 and 9 months, the babies showed progress towards milestones, with the group that received physical therapy improving at a significant rate. In contrast the group that did not receive physical therapy showed a larger gap at the 9 month mark.
Main Takeaways
Babies who received early physical therapy demonstrated significantly improved motor development, getting closer to milestones of their chronological age.
Early physical therapy can assist in strengthening postural muscles, provide symmetry with milestones, and improve coordination, giving babies tools to learn milestones like rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, and walking!
If you are watching your baby’s mobility and wondering if physical therapy could be beneficial an early evaluation could be beneficial to discuss your babies development and equip families with strategies to help support your little one as they work towards their milestones!
Research article link: Physiotherapy Intervention on Premature Infants-A Pilot Study – PubMed
