GROWING UP IN IRELAND: FACTORS IMPACTING SLEEP PATTERNS OF PRETERM INFANTS By Joanne Fallon MS, OT, PhD A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015. Major Director: Shelly J. Lane, PhD, Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy Preterm infants represent t...

Background: Mothers with preterm infants experience numerous stressful problems which can be associated with negative effects on maternal role adaptation. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate maternal role adaptation in mothers with late-preterm infants and its related factors. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital in Zanjan, Iran du...

Background/aims: Even in the absence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), premature birth signals increased risk for abnormal refractive development. The present study examined the relation between clinical risk factors and refractive development among preterm infants without ROP. Methods: Cycloplegic refraction was measured at birth, term, 6, 12, and 48 months corrected age in a cohort of 59 p...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Suck development is a challenging hurdle for preterm infants who endure an extensive oxygen history due to respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). The fine structure of the non-nutritive suck (NNS) was studied in preterm infants according to RDS severity. DESIGN AND METHODS: Recordings of NNS were completed cribside in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in 55 preterm infa...

Preterm infant tidal breathing may be different from that of healthy full-term infants because of various features of the premature thorax. The purpose of this project was to describe chest wall motion in the preterm infant (gestational age <37 weeks) and compare it with chest wall motion data in a group of healthy, full-term infants. We wanted to use an objective bedside method for assessment ...

OBJECTIVE Recent studies have shown that from the postconceptional age of 33 weeks, preterm infants are able to memorize tactile information about the shape of an object by using their hands, and can detect differences with another shape. This study aimed to investigate tactile abilities earlier on in development, in very preterm and mildly preterm human infants. METHODS Infants were assigned...

OBJECTIVES In recent years, much attention has been given to infants born prematurely, at 34 0/7 to 36 6/7 weeks of gestation (WG), which have been classified as 'late preterm'. Neonates from that subgroup are less physiologically and metabolically mature than term infants. The aim of the study was to determine whether infants born at 34WG can be classified as 'late preterm' or 'preterm' newbor...

OBJECTIVES To investigate at what age preterm infants develop a salivary cortisol circadian rhythm and identify whether it is dependent on gestational age and/or postnatal age. To evaluate whether salivary cortisol circadian rhythm development is related to behavioral regularity. To elucidate salivary cortisol levels in preterm infants during the first year of life. METHODS This prospective, ...

Preterm infants have higher nutrient requirements than term infants. Enteral tube feeding is the preferred route to feed preterm infants because premature infants are unable to coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing. There are two common tube feeding methods: intermittent (bolus) or continuous infusion. Minimal enteral nutrition or trophic feeding has many advantages for preterms and sho...

OBJECTIVE Infants classified as small for gestational age are considered to have developed under adverse intrauterine conditions that lead to lack of fat mass accretion. The aim of this study was to test the null hypothesis that the fat mass in preterm small for gestational age infants assessed at term equivalent age was not different from that of full-term small for gestational age newborns. ...